The Life of Star
by Flying By Wire
Summary: Starting a new life is always hard. Join this weary traveler on her journey of leaving home for strangers consisting of various animals and possibly other humans along the way. Learn of the hardships of dealing with uncooperative neighbors, new environments and her new, crazy life. T for language and possible violence and sexual themes
1. Day 1: Arrival

**Alright, so I've never written a story like this before. Plus I've only ever played the game cube version so that's the one this is based on. Deal with it.**

**There's some cursing and all that fun stuff. And idk how many people write about Animal Crossing but I'm about to find out here in a second. I managed to write all of this in like 2 or 3 hours and for SOME REASON I still can't get through the things for my other stories I'm working on. I'm sorry to those who are reading A Cup of Stars and are waiting for more oneshots! Idk what's going on with me!**

**But I hope you all enjoy this in the mean time.**

* * *

**Animal Crossing: The Life of Star**

**Chapter 1**

**Day 1: Arrival**

Everyone has to move out of their parents' house at some time, right? It's all part of growing up- the evolutionary chain or something like that.

But this isn't about just any other person out there- no; this is about me. I decided to finally move out of my own parents' house for good, and I'm even leaving town just to start with. There's too much baggage back there… Mom and Dad may have been nervous about it, but with a little persuasion I got them to okay it as long as they got to send me a letter every now and then.

Of course they also expect me to reply back. But whatever; that's dealable.

So with that, I was on the train that was now leading me to my new life.

Although there is one thing I should mention…

"Hey there! You mind if I take this seat right here?" A cheery voice tore me from my thoughts and I turned to the source.

A blue and white cat about my height and wearing a red and black-striped sweater was smiling at me happily and gesturing to the empty seat in front of me with his paw.

That's right; a _cat._

I may be human, but a good amount of the population was taken up by walking, talking animals that acted just like any other person did. They got jobs, they owned houses, they wore clothes and borrowed things for months without returning them- they were _just like us._

I nodded and shifted in my seat. "Go ahead." I muttered and he thanked me before jumping up to the seat and getting comfortable.

"Thanks a lot! I gotta tell ya' it was pretty hard finding a seat on this train; who'd have thought it'd be so crowded!" He exclaimed and I raised a brow and looked around at the rest of the train car. The only other animal in here was a boar sitting in the back with a bag of turnips at her side who was dozing off repeatedly. "By the way, the name's Rover. What's yours?" The cat- Rover- asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"I um…," I paused, is it weird to tell a complete stranger your name? Who cares, new life, new people- er, animals. "My name's Star." I said and Rover paused, his face scrunching up in held back laughter.

Finally, he couldn't it back anymore and just burst out laughing. "'Star'? What a weird name!" He slapped his knee with a goofy grin and I frowned.

_Says the cat named 'Rover', of all things… _I inwardly growled and pushed my hair back out of my face.

"Yeah, isn't it cute?" I said sarcastically and he ceased his laughter and smiled.

"Yeah! Sorry about that- I think it's a very cute name for a _very _cute girl." He said and I blinked.

"Um…" I scooted back in my seat. Is this some way he goes around picking up other girls or something? It wasn't unheard of for a human and an animal to get together- so that wasn't the problem. It was just that the stuff this weird cat was saying kept throwing me off.

"Was it that bad?" I nodded silently and he laughed. "Okay, sorry about that. So where you headed?"

"I am going to…," I paused in my thoughts. Tell an awkward cat where you're going? Hell with it- it's not like he'll go looking for me. "Idris."

"Idris, huh? That place is great! So you just visiting or what?" He asked with a smile and I sighed to myself.

"I'm moving out." I said and pulled back in my seat when I felt myself sliding off the edge slightly.

"Ooh I see. Yeah, moving's pretty great, I think," _Oh, thinking now, are we? That's dangerous. _"Meeting new folks, seeing new places- it's so fun! You've got your new place all set up, right?" My body went stiff at his question and I averted my eyes.

"Not exactly… I haven't picked out a place yet." I said, instantly feeling like an idiot when he shrieked in fear. Seriously, what kind of person doesn't even scope out the place they'll be living in?

"What?! Are you out of your tree?!" He cried and I raised a brow at his phrase. Tree…? Suddenly he jumped out of his seat and gasped. "Wait a second! I got a buddy that runs a shop in Idris! I could call him up and get him to cut a deal for you on a house he's got on the market; how does that sound?" He asked and my eyes widened.

"That… That'd actually be great." I breathed, strangers ad their kindness; what a world. Rover nodded happily and excused himself as he wandered back into the other train car to call his friend.

I couldn't hear most of the call, but it sounded at least like a done deal. After a few more moments he came back, his fur practically glowing with the smile breaking through.

"He said you're good to go as long as you can pay," He paused for a moment as he hopped back onto the seat. "You _do _have bells, right?" He asked and I nodded.

"I have enough," I said and sighed lightly. "Thanks for cutting that little deal for me, Rover." I muttered, feeling embarrassed for making him go through the trouble. He just shook his head and waved a paw at me.

"Not a problem. What're friends for, yeah?" Friends… That does sound nice. His eyes widened when he looked out the window. "Whoa! Looks like we're pulling up to Idris already! Well, good luck with your new place and everything; who knows, maybe we'll see each other again." He cocked his head to the side, his ears twitching cutely and I nodded.

"Yeah… I'd like that."

* * *

"You! Hey you there!"

I turned away from the train station at the sound of a voice coming from just a small distance away. The voice belonged to none other than a brown raccoon wearing a blue apron with an apple on the front. He ran to me with his tiny legs practically sliding on the river rock surface as he came to a stop in front of me.

"You! Are you Star?" He asked, his snout moving up and down as he spoke. I nodded.

"Yes. Are you the friend Rover called for me?" It was a stupid question, I know- but it feels like it's more polite to acknowledge someone rather than just silence or a "yes." The raccoon nodded quickly.

"Yes! My name is Tom Nook. I run the shop in acre A-5 called 'Nook's Cranny' next to the dump. I'm told you need somewhere to stay, correct?" He asked and I nodded silently. Suddenly he burst out into laughter. "How ridiculous! Moving away without even having an idea on where to go or a place to stay! It's just laughable!" I grumbled and looked away from the raccoon.

"Clearly…" I muttered, this guy's definitely a friend of Rover's. I'm gonna hate this annoying raccoon in no time.

"Alright, follow me please," He said and I obliged as he walked along the river rock down to wear four different houses were built in a small square, all facing a bulletin board in the center. Each house had a mailbox on one side, and a small gyroid on the other. They were currently all as still as a rock; meaning no one occupied any of these houses. "These four houses are all up for sale, feel free to look through each one and take your pick."

I did as Tom Nook said and went to the orange-roofed house first. It was basically the size of half a one-room apartment. It had metal floors and wooden walls accompanied by two windows and had a small radio in one corner and a journal on a small, makeshift table in the in the opposite. I shook my head and went to the green-roofed house next.

Same radio, journal and windows, but the walls and floor made it look like I was about to live in an insane asylum. The floor looked like concrete but it was cushiony in a weird way and the walls still looked like they were either under construction or they just gave up. I sighed and moved on to the yellow-roofed house next.

The wooden floor was nice, but the walls were basically just sheet metal glued into the boards along the windows and making the same radio and journal stand out even more. I groaned and went to the last house- the red-roofed one.

It had a river rock floor just like the outside, only it was cleaner and much smoother. The walls were made of sturdy bricks the color of mud. And, of course, the same journal, table and radio as well.

I nodded to myself and walked out to find Tom Nook a mere two feet away, looking at me expectantly. "So?"

I touched the wall of the red house and grinned. "I think this one's a winner." I said and he clapped his small paws together happily.

"Great! Now, as for the payment…," He paused to make some calculations in his head. "That'll be 19,700 bells." He said and I froze, slowly pulling out a small bag of bells from my pocket. That's _way _more than I could ever hope to make. Here we go…

Tom Nook took the bells from my hand and peeked inside and gasped. "1000 bells?! This is a joke, right?" He asked urgently and I shook my head embarrassingly, at a loss for words.

He sighed and pocketed the bells. "I see. Well then you're just going to have to work the rest off. Meet me at my shop when you're settled in and we can start." And with that he was gone, my gyroid beside the house already twisting in a berserk fashion.

I groaned loudly and kicked up a loose rock. "Dammit Mom! Why wouldn't you let me work extra hours back home?!" I shouted to the sky as if I thought that would somehow reach her.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed toward Nook's Cranny. Might as well get this nightmare started.

* * *

"There you are! It's about time- I was starting to think you'd never show!" Tom Nook yelled at me with his paws on his hips and I shot him a fake smile.

"Good to see you too, Nook." I said sweetly. He ignored me and came over with a change of clothes that had the same apple on them as his apron, except they were green.

"Change into these; it's your uniform. Once you're done, come see me and I'll give you your first job." He said and I took the clothes off his paws and looked around.

"Where do I change? Back home?" I asked with a raised brow, noticing there wasn't even a bathroom in this place.

"Here in the shop! I don't want you running off with those clothes. It's my only set! Just change behind the sales counter over there." He gestured to the arrangement of wooden tables with flower seeds and stationary on them and I frowned, deciding to just go along with it and not make him any angrier than he already was.

I ducked behind the table and threw off my shirt, every now and then casting a weary glance over at the steaming raccoon as I changed. After also throwing on my hat I stood up again, tucking away my old clothes in my messenger bag. Either I'm three sizes too small or this uniform is literally supposed to be a dress. It felt weird, but I fought back the feeling and spoke to him again.

"Ready when you are." I said. He nodded with a small chuckle and handed me a bag that smelled like plants and flowers.

"Go plants these outside. I don't care how you arrange them, but we need this shop to look more appealing on the outside too. Go on." He gestured to the open door and I nodded silently and left with the bag in hand.

The summer heat was unbearable by the time I was even halfway through with planting the flowers. Nature's pretty and all, but it's a real pain when it's this hot.

Finally I fished the flowers and eventually managed to plant the tree saplings as well before tossing the bag aside by the door and wiping the sweat gathered on my brow and I walked back inside.

"Everything's planted, Nook," I breathed and leaned against the wall. "What next?"

"Great! I still need to prepare the items for the rest of your jobs, so while I'm doing that, just go on and meet all your neighbors. You're gonna have to talk to them all at some point anyway. Meet the mayor as well, it sets a good impression. He'll be at the wishing well." He said and I nodded with a small smile and was out the door and back at the train station in no time, looking at the map to find who's where.

This town had three levels of land, so there'd be a lot of hills to climb in between jobs and errands. Just to the right of me in acre B-4 was someone named Scoot. To the left of my house in B-2 was someone else who lived by the river and a bridge was Dizzy. Then the next acre over were two more people, Emerald and Pippy. Two acres down from them in D-1 was the wishing well, so that's where I'll find the mayor.

The last two residents were all the way down at the cliff diving the second and third levels by the beach. In E-2 was someone named Buzz and two more acres over was Ferva. I also made note of the police station in C-5. That'll probably be handy in the future. I backed away from the map and decided to head over to Scoot's house first.

Maybe I can make some more friends like Rover… That'd be a nice change of pace.

* * *

I slowed to a stop when I saw a small green duck come out of his house and I called out to him. "Hey there!" I said, stopping in front of him when he turned to me. He wore a white helmet like he was about to go biking somewhere and his shirt was bright blue with orange stripes on the bottom.

"Who the heck are you? I've never seen you around before." He quacked and I almost flinched back at how loud he was.

"Uh… My name's Star. I just moved in over at B-3 so… 'Sup neighbor?" I said and he quacked loudly in laughter.

"Star, huh? What a dumb name! Anyway, the name's Scoot. Good to see a new face every now and then." He ceased his laughter and I frowned when he extended his wing to me. What is it with all these animals thinking my name is stupid? Scoot's an even worse name if you ask me… I inwardly sighed and shook his wing in a hand shaking gesture.

"Glad to be the newbie then." I said and left to go meet Dizzy next.

The sun was beginning to go down, I better get this stuff done quick.

* * *

Dizzy turned out to be a grey elephant with an orange-tipped trunk, wearing a yellow shirt with the number 5 on it. He smiled when I came toward him.

"Hey there! I've never seen you before. You just move into one of those houses ole' Nook keeps up for sale all the time?" He asked with a smile and I nodded happily.

"Yup. Though I gotta pay off my mortgage to the guy too by working it off." I sighed and he nodded with a frown.

"Yeah, that sucks a lot. It must be pretty tough. So what's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Star. Nice to meet you…" I trailed off, hoping he would get my point and tell me his name properly with my hand extended to him as well.

"Dizzy, and nice to meet you too. You'll love it here in Idris. It's great! See ya around!" He waved his trunk at me in goodbye after he shook my hand and I could practically feel myself skipping over the bridge behind his house across the river. Unlike Scoot and Tom Nook, Dizzy was pretty nice.

Now, onto Emerald and Pippy.

* * *

"Hi there! My name's Pippy! Don't you think that's just the cutest name ever?" I had to practically jump back at the high pitch tone that was Pippy's voice. She was a yellow rabbit with blue ears, the blue also engulfing her forehead as her paws twisted together over her red and white-striped dress.

"And I'm Emerald! What's your name? You're new, right? I don't think I've met you…" The other girl- Emerald- trailed off. She was a green frog with pink eyelids and was wearing a yellow shirt with a small frog face on it.

"Uh, yes, I am new. And my name's Star. Look I gotta go, but I'll see you two around?" I turned toward the hill just an acre away and the two animals nodded happily.

"Of course! Welcome to the neighborhood!" They smiled and I fought back a shudder at how uneasily perky they were and I ran down toward the wishing well. This'll take some getting used to…

* * *

The wishing well felt strangely peaceful as I strode in front of it. It consisted of a large tree surrounded by river rock with a small fountain placed in front of it. I paused at seeing an old turtle wearing a top hat and green bowtie with a cane holding him upright and walked toward him.

"Hello. Are you the mayor of Idris?" I asked and the old turtle adjusted his glasses and fiddled with his small beard.

"Yup! That's me! Mayor Tortimer at your service. I don't believe I've seen you around here before, young lady." He said and I nodded.

"That's right. I just moved in one of the houses in acre B-3. I'm working for Tom Nook to pay off my mortgage. It's nice to meet you, sir."

"I see. That Tom Nook, always the slave driver," He paused to chuckle and I couldn't help but agree with his words. "Well, welcome to Idris! I hope we'll be seeing you around the village's special events while you're here, Miss…?" He trailed off.

"Star. My name is Star. And it's nice to feel welcomed." I smiled and he grinned in turn with a nod.

"Indeed it is. Alright, off with you. I have some wishing to do!" He cheered as he shuffled over to the wishing well and I shook my head with a light laugh before moving on down to the third level to go meet Buzz.

* * *

Buzz was _big._

"What're you staring at, girl?" He grumbled at me and I frowned at him. Buzz was a large, brown hawk. His beak looked like it could snap me in two if he really wanted to. His shirt reminded me of a race car with the way it was striped and the circled number 6 in the center.

"Nothing. I'm staring at nothing," I said quickly and walked over to him, careful to keep a fair distance between us. "My name is Star. I just moved in today."

"Alright then. Hi. I'm Buzz. Now what do you want, girl?" He grumbled and I fought back the urge to break his annoying beak.

"First of all, I just told you my name, so you might as well use it. And second, I'm working for Tom Nook and he said it'd be a good idea to get familiar with my new neighbors, so here I am. Nice to meet you." I seethed, crossing my arms over my chest.

He shrugged, his feathers poking through the shirt that was obviously too tight for him. "Whatever. Good luck dealing with him. Now get lost, Star." He attempted to spit my name out by it barely worked and with that I was gone, off to meet Freya next.

Hopefully she'll be better than this douchebag.

* * *

Freya was a bright pink wolf whose voice seemed way too high for a canine such as herself. Her eyes gleamed like golden nuggets and it was honestly scary how much eye shadow the wolf managed to force through her fur and onto her skin underneath to make it pop out so much. She was also wearing an army camo shirt.

"Uh, hi. Are you Freya?" I started and I had to back up as she turned her long snout to face me.

"Hello! You must be new here! I am Freya, I see my reputation perceives me." She breathed dramatically and stroked her fur lightly and I rolled my eyes. Here we go; a diva wolf. And here's me thinking wolves were my favorite animal. She just killed my image of them completely.

"Okay, right then. My name's Star and I just moved in by the train station. Nice to meet you," I shook her paw and before she could say any more I released her paw and ran up the hill beside her house. "Can't talk, I gotta get back to work. See you around!"

I hope I don't have to talk to her all that much. These animals down at the third level freak me out…

* * *

"Great! You're back. I need you to deliver this carpet to Freya." Tom Nook handed me a small rolled up carpet in his paws.

Well, fuck.

I inwardly groaned and took the carpet from him and stuffed it in my bag and ran back to Freya's house. In a hurry to get my work done and in a hurry to see her even less. I saw her outside her house and I handed her the carpet, saying it was a delivery from Nook's Cranny.

"It's about time! I ordered this specifically to match my elegant home days ago!" She growled irritably and I sighed.

"Whatever bitch, back to Nook's I go." I muttered and started up the hill.

"What was that?" She called back to me. How did her huge wolf ears not pick that up?

"Nothing. Bye Freya."

* * *

My next deliveries went by pretty fast. A ranch table to Dizzy, a wallpaper to Pippy- simple stuff. And what's better- they all gave me shirts or my own furniture in return as well.

"Last assignment for the day, Star. Then we'll continue tomorrow." Tom Nook said and I instantly perked up.

"Great! Give it to me, Nook. I'm ready." I jumped up and down in place excitedly and he handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

"We're having a customer's appreciation sale soon and I need you to write a letter about it to Buzz. He's a loyal customer of mine, so make it good! When you're done, take it to the post office in acre A-5 and the pelicans will do the rest." He said and wandered off to the back of the shop.

I grinned and immediately started the letter to Buzz. Time for some payback… Once I finished, I read it to myself in complete silence, an ever widening grin on my face the entire time.

_To Buzz_

_ Greetings, Citizen Shitbird. Ole' Nook's having a dumb sale and for some reason he wants you to know first. Don't ask me, I think he's nuts to think you're loyal. Bye Shitbird._

_ From Star_

So it's not as professionally done as I'd like it to be. It's Tom Nook's fault for giving me a pen instead of a pencil. And who cares if Buzz gets pissed and whines about it all over town? I sure as hell don't.

Oh well, time to deliver this dumb thing. I hurried out of the shop and to the post office in A-1.

* * *

"Hi there. My name is Pelly. Do you have a letter you need delivered?" The white pelican at the desk smiled at me, her feathered arms folded over each other neatly. I smiled and put the letter on the counter.

"Yup. Here it is." The post office looked old, but nice in its own way. There was even a plant in here. The desks were a dark-colored wood and Pelly was really nice too. She wore a pink dress with a big white bow over her chest.

I glanced over at the corner to see a purple pelican punching in her time on a small card. She didn't look as nice as Pelly did though.

"Alright," Pelly paused to pace the letter on the back counter and turned to me again. "We'll have it delivered as early as tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Pelly. Have a good night." I said and stepped through the door after she wished me the same.

Time to go home.

* * *

I crashed on the blanket I laid out over the smoothed river rock flooring after I changed into the pajamas I brought with me. I flicked on a flashlight I materialized from my bag and opened the journal on the blanket since I used to table to keep my uniform from touching the ground and I bit into a peach I'd grabbed from a tree on the way home. Apparently peaches were Idris' local fruit. Who knows, maybe my parents would send me some fruits for me to plant around here so we could have more variety.

"Hmm…" I trailed off in thought. Do I write in the journal? Or do I toss it in the dumpster conveniently located right next to Nook's Cranny?

"Ah hell, might as well make use of it." I said to myself and grabbed the pencil after flicking on the radio to some random station, frowning when no matter how many I changed it to, I didn't get anything. I sighed and realized the only way to get music around here was to get it from somebody somehow and started writing in the journal.

_So, my first day away from my old life… Not so bad considering I've already been subjected to what might as well a life-long servitude to an angry raccoon who wears nothing but an apron while being surrounded by mostly ditzy and asshole-ish neighbors. Let's see where this new life of mine takes me._

* * *

**Alright...so yes? No? How was it? I gotta know 'cause this type of story is COMPLETELY new to me**

**Buzz is a dick because he was in my file when I met him. That letter is in exact words of what I sent him. And I'm also going to try keeping Star's journal entries on my file too if I can. It's gonna drive me nuts but I'll make this work!**

**Plus I've always hated Scoot. He's always been so annoying to me. And I bet you City of Bones readers out there are just killing me for naming my town Idris of all things. I'm going by EXACTLY what I did for my file. Right down to the name, city, where everything's at, the characters- everything. I'll do what I can to fit in all the NPCs too, and maybe even another human or two. I'm not sure yet**

**REVIEW BEFORE YOU FAVE/FOLLOW PLEASE, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS 'CAUSE IT'S A FUCKING CHALLENGE. THANK YOU**

**bye bye**


	2. Day 2: Freedom and Wisps

**I had no idea guest reviews didn't get counted on here. That's depressing!**

**So this story got a little attention, but could you _please _review this time? I need to know if I'm doing a good job. This is incredibly different from any other story I've ever written before, so please? I gotta know how this looks to the readers and not the writer.**

**So I change a couple things around here and there. Oh well, it's my story after all**

**enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Day 2: Freedom and Wisps**

"Up bright and early, aren't you?" Tom Nook grinned at me from behind a table, looking at me in the doorway.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and walked over to the desk. "You could say that." I said as I straightened out my uniform.

The raccoon shook his head. "Well, I don't have your deliveries ready yet, so in the meantime, why don't you go around and help the villagers with some things? The folks here are quite generous so you may even get a reward for helping them." He said and I sighed lightly.

"Alright then. But first: I need a map. I'm gonna windup getting lost with only being able to look at the one at the train station." I said and his eyes widened with a sharp gasp.

"Not true! There's another map at the police station to use too!" He cried and I shot him a look, after a few moments he groaned and pulled out a rolled up paper from underneath the table. "Alright, fine! You young people these days and your constant complaints! Back in my day we raccoons had to find our way around on our own!" He scoffed and I chuckled, taking the map from him.

"Idris was probably also a lot smaller 'back in your day'." I smirked when he froze mid-comeback and sighed, letting me leave without a second word.

* * *

I decided to skip over Scoot's house, even though it was closer… But he already annoys me. I figured I could just go to Dizzy and see if he needed help. He's probably the only sane animal here anyway.

"Hey Star! How's it going?" Dizzy waved when he saw me coming towards him.

I waved back and straightened out my hat. "Morning, Dizzy. Goin' good. Hey do you need anything done?" I asked with my head cocked to the side and he blinked in confusion. "Like little jobs that I can do? Tom Nook still doesn't have my deliveries ready." I sighed and he chuckled at my obvious irritation toward the raccoon.

"Oh, I've got the perfect thing! I lent my old comic book to Emerald a while ago- but she still hasn't given it back! It's always 'Don't worry, I'll bring it right back!' this, and 'I won't forget it!' that. Why do I ever believe that?" He groaned irritably and I smirked.

"Ain't that the truth? Consider it done, I'll have that comic book back to you in no time. Wait," I paused for a moment in thought. "Emerald reads _comics?" _I asked and the elephant shrugged. Emerald didn't seem like the comic-y type at all.

"That's Idris for you." He said and with that I was in acre B-5 and finding Emerald in no time.

"Hi Star! The morning sun just looks great, doesn't it? Anyway, what do you need?" The frog asked sweetly, folding her webbed hands over her frog-face shirt.

"Yeah, it does- and I'm picking up. Dizzy's comic is still your hostage." I said and she immediately stiffened. I frowned at her confusedly. "Emerald?"

"Funny story… I don't have it," I raised a brow at her and crossed my arms, the frog got all flustered and squirmed under my gaze. "It's not my fault! Freya came by and pocketed the thing before I could do anything about it!" She cried.

"You couldn't tell her 'no'?" I asked with a sigh as she shook her head. "Alright fine. I'll get it from Freya. See you later Emerald."

"Thanks Star! See you soon!"

* * *

I jumped down the rest of the hill to the third level of land, jumping a small amount to a stop and nearly falling when my foot landed on a stray soccer ball. Something feathery kept me from hitting the ground though.

"Watch where you fall, Star. Nearly cracked open your skull on a rock." The familiar deep voice of Buzz rang like a warning bell in my ears and I jumped to my feet rather clumsily.

"Buzz, what're you doing here?" I asked, unable to fight back my immediate hostility. The hawk blinked and shook his head.

"What? No 'thank you'? A bird can't walk around the village he lives in?" He held up his wings and gestured the acre we were in and I shrugged.

"And here I thought you were too annoyed by me to even use my name." I took a cautious step around him toward Freya's house. Buzz just laughed.

"That was before I got that letter of yours." I froze in my steps and raised brow at him in confusion. Is this the way he acts when he wants to beat someone up? Psych them out and beat the living shit out of them when they least expect it?

Buzz took a paper out from his feathers and held it up to me and I immediately recognized it as my letter when I saw the words "Citizen Shitbird" in the first line.

"I got the letter you sent to me for Tom Nook. It was great! I actually like getting letters. I even keep every one I get 'cause they put me in a good mood! I mean, who wouldn't like a letter?" His beak cracked a smile and I found myself at a loss for words.

"Um… Great." I said, attempting to process what the bird was telling me. I'm guessing these guys couldn't read even to save their life. This is gonna be fun in the long run…

"So, what I'm getting at is: I was wrong about you, Star. I just thought you'd be some snotty bitch human when you got here." He said bluntly and my shoulders hunched over.

"Gee, _thanks _Buzz." I said sarcastically but he either didn't notice or didn't care and just kept going.

"But you're not that bad; I'd even go as far as to say you're tolerable," He said, obviously unaware of the words spewing out of his own beak. "You need anything? You come to me, alright. See you around."

And with that he was gone, leaving me to my own devices as he wandered up the hill to the second level.

"Well, that was… Different."

I had no idea animals couldn't read… Either that or they just couldn't comprehend an insult when it was right in front of them. Oh well.

* * *

I knocked on the door to Freya's house when I didn't see her outside and I could hear her muffled voice inside, letting me know it was okay to walk in. So I swung open the door and let myself in.

It was like she lived in an art gallery or something. Paintings were scattered all about the house with a few different chairs set in random places and a stereo system playing some ungodly tune in the corner.

"Good morning, Star. Is there any reason you prefer to grace yourself with my presence?" Freya smiled at me from across the room, her eye shadow as bright as ever.

"Uh, yeah, what's with all the… Never mind. I'm here to pick up a comic that Emerald gave you. Dizzy wants it back." I said, ignoring the several paintings set up in different ways. The wolf smiled at me and grabbed a small book off her stereo and handed it to me.

"Of course! Here you go. I finished that thing ages ago and just kept forgetting to bring it back! Thanks so much for doing this little chore for me!" Before I could say anything more I was shoved out the door again with Dizzy's comic in hand.

"I'm not doing it for you though." I sighed, heading up the hill next to Freya's house and back to Dizzy in no time at all.

"Here's your comic back, Dizzy. It's uh… It's been around." I said simply, the elephant grinned when he took the comic from my hand.

"Thanks Star! You're a lifesaver! You know what? Just for that- you can have some old furniture of mine. I'm sure your place could use a couple homey touches, eh?" He said with a smile and I was suddenly blessed with a large table that I brought back to my house with _much _effort. The damn thing took up almost half my house! But its drawers and large surface I felt would come in handy later on.

I went back out to do a couple more things for my neighbors before heading back to Nook's Cranny. Giving Scoot back a camera from Dizzy, taking back a book from Freya to give to Buzz, getting another comic for Scoot from Pippy which wound up going to Freya, Buzz, _and _Dizzy before getting it back to him- seriously, why do I keep having to go to Freya?- and taking clothes from Pippy to give to Emerald- which I didn't get considering they lived in the same damn acre.

By the time I'd gotten back to Nook, I'd been given more clothes, some furniture and even new carpeting. I'm yet to check it out for myself though.

"There you are! Here, I've got your first delivery all ready. Take this to Scoot and come back as soon as possible. There's quite a few left." Tom Nook said hurriedly as he shoved the package in my hands and went back to his desk. I shrugged and walked out the door after I put the package in my bag and ran to Scoot's house.

"Here's your delivery from Nook's Cranny, Scoot." I said, handing the duck his order and he swiped it from my hand irritably.

"I thought I was gonna have to wait forever for this thing! Finally, it's here! You can have this, by the way. I don't need it anymore." He reached into his feathers and gave me a couple sheets of stationary as a reward.

"Alright. Bye Scoot." I said and ran back to the shop, the less time I had to put up with Scoot, the better.

The next delivery was to Buzz. Great, another discussion with the weirdly nice side of Buzz I didn't expect.

I gave him the carpeting he'd ordered and was about to be on my way when he stopped me in my tracks by screaming "Pop quiz!"

I raised a brow at him and turned hesitantly. "Um… What?"

"A pop quiz. You know what those are, right?" If looks could kill… I wish. "Right. Which fish does Tom Nook pay more for? The piranha or the colored trout?" He asked. Of course the animal Nook considers a loyal customer would ask me something like this. I had no clue!

So I did what any other sane person would do when asked a question by a giant hawk.

I guessed.

"Um… The piranha?" I said and Buzz clapped his wings together, they collided silently.

"Right answer! Nook sells those things for 6,500 bells a pop!" He exclaimed and my eyes widened. I should start fishing then if I ever wanna make cash like that. "But I hear there's one more fish he'll pay even more for. Some kind of legendary fish or something… Who knows?" He shrugged and I nodded slowly.

"Okay then, right. Uh, I gotta go, see ya Buzz."

The rest of the deliveries went by pretty fast. The day just zoomed on by and by the time I'd finished the last one the sun had already almost gone down. I walked into Nook's Cranny and the raccoon acknowledged my presence as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

I inwardly panicked when I lost my footing and stumbled over to the raccoon, accidentally shoving him aside. He didn't seem to notice though, as his body just seemed to slide across the floor he wasn't really there. I'd seen this happen when the other villagers walked into each other by accident but no one seemed to care.

"Um…" I muttered, unsure of what to say. The world glitches. There are no words for this.

"You're almost done, Star; I promise. Now, do you remember that bulletin board in your part of the village?" He asked and I nodded silently. "Good. The last thing I want you to do is post a bulletin for my shop and come back to me when you're done." He said and I did a mock salute.

"Yes sir."

* * *

So, thanks to Buzz, I now know that these guys can't read for shit. So as long as they know I'm the one who wrote the bulletin, they'll know it's for the shop nonetheless, right? So this'll be easy enough. I decided to have to have a little fun with it just because.

I scribbled on a blank piece of paper they had posted on for someone who felt the need to use it. After a few moments I had what I wanted and stood back to admire my work.

_COME ON DOWN TO NOOK'S CRAP CRANNY_

_Where everything is half what you'd want it to be. Have fun shoving the old 'coon into dark corners too!_

Sleep deprivation kept me from using my creative juices. I sighed lightly and headed back to Nook's Cranny to find Tom Nook grinning at me in the doorway.

"Uh… Why're you looking at me like that?" I asked warily.

"I have no more jobs for you to do, Star. You're free from working for me. You're free to keep that uniform too, if you want to; I have the Mable Sisters working on a spare as we speak," I wondered for a moment just who the Mable Sisters were; maybe I'd get to meet them soon. "Of course, you still have to pay off your house too. You can make payments at the post office by talking to Pelly or Phyllis. And who knows, pay off certain amounts at a time and you might be able to upgrade your space too.

"Also, I was going to sign you up for the Happy Room Academy as well. It'll help Idris as a whole if you do! They check out how you decorate and keep your home; the better it is to them, the more points you get and the more points you get, the better our village looks to the public eye. So what do you say? Will you help out? The other villagers are too iffy about it to do it themselves."

My mouth hung open wide in shock. "Sure, but… So I… I don't have to work anymore? I can come here as a normal customer too?" I asked and the raccoon nodded.

"Of course! This is the only store in Idris, after all! Now go on home, get some sleep, and I'll see you around." And with that I was shoved out of his store as he closed it down for the night.

I clenched my hands into fists and jumped in the air happily. "YES! I don't have to work anymore! I'm free!" I cheered on my way back home, changing my clothes and writing in my journal for the night about finishing work and moving the furniture in my house like I planned on.

I carefully moved everything outside while I set down the carpet I'd gotten from Pippy. She called it "front lawn" or something like that. And that's exactly what it looked like; a lawn. I sighed and shrugged, starting to move my things back inside.

"It'll have to do for now. Better than sleeping on rocks, at least." I muttered and set my journal on the table that Dizzy gave me today. I tossed the old makeshift table my house came with in the dump and set up a table Emerald gave me called an "iris table" and set my small radio on top of it after moving it into the corner.

I sighed and marveled at my progress, the clothes the animals had given me were either in drawers or in piles to sell to Tom Nook when I had the chance, along with the furniture I had no use for. I laid out my blanket and the moment I was comfortable I felt sleep overcome me, welcoming its embrace with open arms.

* * *

I was lost. I was stuck. I was cold.

And I was alone.

Whatever this was, I wanted it to stop. It looked familiar, and yet still not.

Buildings I'd grown up around littered the scene, along with ones distorted and out of focus as well. My parents were there, even my fellow villagers from Idris, and Rover too. What's going on? Some kind of event?

I walked by all the houses that belonged to those I knew, but something was off. Their gyroids, that's it. I knew these were their houses, their furniture could even be seen through the windows as I walked. But the gyroids… They weren't moving. They only keep still when no one lives there, I thought so anyway.

"Star, Honey! You're here!" My mom walked over to me happily and pulled me into a tight embrace and my dad did the same as well. "We were beginning to think you'd never make it in time."

I glanced between my parents curiously, vaguely aware of my neighbors coming over to me as well.

"Make it to what? What's going on, Mom?" I asked with a small smile and the two shared a look and smiled at me in turn.

"Why, our passing on, of course. Why else would we all be here?" She laughed and I blinked, hoping I'd heard that wrong.

"Uh… You're what?" I choked out, almost flinching when I felt a paw on my shoulder. I turned to find Rover smiling at me like that way he never seemed to be able to stop.

"Our passing on, Star. Don't you remember? Everybody's gone now. But you're here so late that we can't say goodbye anymore. You're alone again." He said, fading away slowly from existence.

My eyes widened and I grabbed his paw that had gone transparent. "What? No! You can't all be gone already! I just met you! This…," I glanced around me to find my other neighbors already nearly faded away completely. My parents were even halfway gone themselves and I shifted my fearful gaze back to Rover. "This is actually happening…? It can't be." I choked out.

"Sorry Star. It's too late now, good bye…" And with that the cat was gone, though I could still feel the touch of his paw on my shoulder.

I felt my legs buckle underneath me and I collapsed to the ground, my hands going on either side of my head and inwardly praying for this all to go away; to be fake.

It can't be… It can't.

There's no way I can go back to being alone again.

* * *

I cried out and shot up from the floor in a cold sweat, gasping for air heavily. A nightmare… It was just another nightmare, that's all.

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair, throwing the blanket off my body. "I thought I'd have gotten rid of these when I left…" I muttered. Well, good luck getting back to sleep now.

I shakily got up to my feet and opened a drawer and pulled out a shirt that Buzz gave me on my last delivery for him. It was blue with white diamond shapes all over. I think he called it the "twinkle shirt." I shrugged and threw it on along with a pair of pants; there was no way I'd even be able to concentrate without going out for a walk or something.

So that's exactly what I'll do. Besides, it's not like anyone will be outside at 2 o'clock in the morning, right?

It'll be fine. _I'll _be fine. I kept telling myself these words as I closed the door behind me and started my trek through Idris.

It's lost on me why I thought walking through the village at night was actually a _good _idea.

It was a lot creepier than I should've expected. Complete silence reached my ears except for the water running under the bridge behind Dizzy's house I walked across. I found myself back in Pippy and Emerald's acre again and I blinked when I saw a new house set up right next to Emerald's and blinked.

_How the hell do these people make entire houses in just a few hours? _I thought, wishing I could be that productive in a lifetime and sighing. Maybe I'll get to meet the new villager in the morning.

"_Hello…?" _I instantly froze in my tracks at the sound of a voice not too far away. Maybe a villager had the same idea as me? That wouldn't be so bad…

I looked around slowly, but there was no one in sight. I frowned and let my hair fall in my face. "Is someone there?" I called out, hoping at least Scoot or someone else would come out and say they just tried to give me a good scare.

"_No, I'm over here… Look over here…! Hello?" _The voice had me going in circles. I'd go one direction, then it'd tell me to go the other way instead. It was getting more and more unsettling by the second.

"Hello…? Where are you? Show yourself!" I somehow managed to keep my voice from shaking as I took another step forward.

Then, out of nowhere, a large, transparent-white form suddenly appeared right in front of me and got in my face. _"Hi! You found me!"_

I screamed and stumbled back away from the figure in fear. It frowned at me and floated forward. _"Gee, what's the matter with you, huh? Ain't you ever seen a ghost before?"_

So that's what it was. Talk about timing… Nightmares about the dead and seeing a real ghost all in the span of an hour. It sounded like a boy… He was basically a floating ball with a tail, face and tiny arms. On top of his head was a strange band, I think I'd heard of ghosts wearing those in Japanese horror stories. He was smiling at me innocently, almost making me forget that he nearly scared me to death.

"I… I have now," I gasped, standing up and brushing off some leaves that got stuck to my pants. "Who are you?"

The ghost blinked and grinned wide. _"I'm Whisp! Whisp the ghost! Who're you?" _He asked cheerfully and I couldn't help but smile. You'd think a ghost would just be a constant downer, considering they're dead and all, but he's surprisingly upbeat.

"My name's Star. What're you doing out here in the middle of the night, Whisp? Unless… That's just how you ghosts roll." I said lamely, gesturing the dark acres around us. Immediately the ghostly form's happy attitude did a 180.

"_I could be asking you the same thing. But me? Oh my…," _Whisp paused as if considering whether he'd tell me or not. _"I'm looking for my friends. They're here in Idris, I know, but we got separated and I don't know where they are now!" _He cried and I frowned at him.

"I can help you look for 'em. Shouldn't be too hard to catch a couple ghosts, right?" I said with a light smirk and the ghost gasped loudly.

"_You will?! Oh, thank you! They're like me, but smaller- you'll know them when you see them," _He finished but floated forward again as he remembered something else. _"There's five of them; oh! By the way, the only way to catch them is with a net. Do you have one?" _He asked and I blinked. A net? Seriously?

"Do _you _have one? The shop's closed and I'm broke." I asked. He frowned before nodding slightly.

"_Well, a small one, but I-" _He paused when I reached a hand out to him.

"Gimme."

Whisp pulled back as if afraid of my actions. _"W-What? But this is my favorite net!" _He held a small net in his ghost hands caringly and I raised a brow at him.

"I'm not gonna steal the damn thing, alright? Do you want to see your friends again or not?" I said sternly and he glanced between me and the net in his hands warily before handing it over to me.

"_Alright, but be careful with it…" _He said before floating off into silence, obviously meaning it was time for me to go ghost hunting.

This ought to be fun.

* * *

"Here, ghost. Heeeere ghosty, ghosty," I'd been trailing through the trees on the second level for who knows how long, looking for Whisp's friends. And I'm yet to find a single one! "Come on, you little bastards…" I whispered irritably. He said before I left that they all only stay until four o'clock, so I didn't have much time left. Maybe just an hour or so.

Finally, when all hope seemed lost, I saw a faint light in the distance, accompanied by a small, disembodied voice whispering incomprehensive things. I stepped toward it slowly but cautiously so as not to spook it, held up the net, and the small apparition let itself get caught in its swing with no problem.

"Yes! Just four more to go." I cheered, already beginning to forget why I'd left my house in the first place.

The next three were fairly easy to find, now that I knew what they looked like. One was behind Scoot's house- oh, how I'd _love _for it to haunt him for a while- and the other two were hanging around the post office and Nook's Cranny.

The last one… Was becoming a real pain in the ass.

"C'mon you little bas- ghost. Come back to shore already! Please?" I called out to the small wisp desperately. It currently floated a few feet away from the dock leading to the open sea, too far to reach out and catch and too high up to just swim out and grab it from underneath.

I groaned when it either didn't hear me or just ignored me. Great, now what? Four was just around half an hour away and Whisp was way up at the first level while I was stuck here at the bottom of the third. For once I wished Buzz were here so he could just fly out and bring the ghost back to shore for me.

"Okay, fuck it. I'm not wasting any more time." I sighed and got to the very edge of the dock and gripped the wood of it sticking up tightly, reaching out my other hand with the net to the ghost. Just a little farther… Just a bit more and I'll have him.

I could practically touch it by now, the net was so close! I carefully let my hand slide up to the top of the wood to let me go a bit farther, and finally, the smaller wisp welcomed the net and floated into my pocket along with the other four.

I was about to let out a whoop of excitement, until I felt my hand slip off the wood entirely, crying out when my lack of balance got the better of me and I fell into the cold ocean.

"Jesus!" I gasped when I finally managed to swim up to the surface and pushed myself to shore. "Why would an ocean in the summer be cold?!" I growled, wringing out my hair after setting Whisp's net aside. At least with it being summer, there wasn't an overly cold breeze to give me a cold or anything.

After a few moments of attempting to dry off my clothes, I hurried up the hills and back to the first level, praying I'd make it in time.

"Whisp? Hey Whisp! You still here?!" I called out desperately, grinning wide when I heard his familiar, faint voice behind me.

"_Star, you're back! How did it go? And…," _He paused to take in my appearance and he frowned. _"And why're you all wet?"_

I sighed lightly. "Let's just say your little friends give a whole new meaning to being 'uncooperative', anyway," I paused to hand him his net and let the flap of my bag hang open. "I found 'em all."

I grinned when all the smaller ghosts floated out of my bag and to Whisp happily, who smiled at me.

"_Thank you, Star! You've been a big help here! I owe you one, in fact- why don't you pick right now?" _He suggested and I blinked, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Really? Well um… What do I have to choose from?" I asked. I mean, what could a ghost do, after all?

"_You have the options of… repainting your roof for you, plucking out all of Idris' weeds… Or a random item from me!"_ He said, floating up and down eagerly as I thought of what I wanted.

A random item would be fun… But most times it turns out pretty crappy. And Idris doesn't really have all that many weeds just yet, so I could take care of those when I get the chance. The roof sounded nice… It was obvious Tom Nook ever put much care into them, just making sure they were the only ones available for newcomers and having them do all the work when they moved in.

"I'll take the roof painting." I said finally and Whisp cheered.

"_Great! What color would you like?" _He asked and I paused for a moment.

"… You got blue?" I asked carefully and he nodded happily and I smiled. "Perfect then."

"_I'll get to work on it right away! You'll see it when you get back home. Thanks again, Star! I'll see you again soon!"_

And with that he was gone, his smaller ghost friends not far behind. I laughed lightly and shook my head, walking back home with much less fear than when I started out.

"There's no way anyone can paint a roof that fast…," I smiled, but paused and blinked when I finally reached home. "Unless you're a ghost, apparently."

The roof was already the same shade of blue as my shirt. I grinned and walked inside after turning on the lights.

Maybe I should just leave the lights on tonight… Just in case. Being with Whisp tonight helped take my mind off it and all, but it's the moment you're alone that it all just comes back again, right?

I laid on top of the blanket after laying my clothes out to dry and changing back into my pajamas.

Not a single nightmare. How about that?

* * *

**Who else has that problem with always having to go to the character you can't stand? I do! I kept having to go to damn Freya it was driving me nuts! And I still laugh my head off every time I send someone a bad letter and they act like it's the best thing in the fuckin world. It's great!**

**And yes, I know Whisp doesn't actually give you a net to use, but it was all I could think of! Star just got free from work, so she hasn't had a chance to sell anything or buy a net herself! And the nightmare thing...well, I needed an excuse to get her outside at 2am. Bite me**

**And no, these will not go day by day... I don't think. There's bound to be time skips every now and then. And she doesn't write in her journal all the time, and when she does we won't see it every time either. Only when I feel it's important to do so**

**REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE.**

**Next time we'll be seeing another NPC! And it's always a fan favorite! Take a guess if you want, or hey- help me come up with cool ways to introduce the others! Everything helps!**

**See you next time.**


	3. Day 3: Totakeke

**New chapter! Got it done after working on it all day...ugh, what a pain.**

**Ok, so the letter from the museum in this chapter isn't the same as the one I actually got on my file. I accidentally deleted it when I thought I was deleting an HRA letter. Ugh, I was mad. Oh well.**

**Enjoy the chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Day 3: Totakeke**

_Notice for Star,_

_ Thank you for joining the Happy Room Academy! We'll be monitoring your progress as you try to turn your home into a masterpiece of style. Happy decorating!_

_-The Happy Room Academy_

Oh, right. I forgot Tom Nook pressed me to join the HRA to help out the village. I groaned when I realized they'll become a couple of hardcore critics when it comes to how I want to live. This should be… Interesting.

I blinked when I saw another letter from them as well. What could it be this time? I tore it open and read the lines carefully.

_Star,_

_ Your current layout earns 1,366 points. To be blunt, your house is too small. You don't have the space for a pleasant layout._

_ The Happy Room Academy_

Great, it's already started. "Well, no shit my house is 'too small', I've only been here like two days!" I muttered sharply and tossed the two letters from them, just leaving one more which said it was from the museum.

Wait, why would the museum be sending me letters? Do we even have a museum here? I shook my head and tore open the letter.

_Notice for Star,_

_ The museum of Idris would like to happily welcome you into the community. If you find anything that would benefit the museum as a whole, we would gladly take it off your hands and put it on display for all to see. If you find any fossils, however, please mail them to us so we may identify them before you attempt to donate them. Thank you._

_ Museum of Idris_

So we _do _have a museum, huh? Wait… I wonder if that painting I got from Freya would count as a donation. I sure can't do anything with it. And fossils… Fossils are underground, so…

I need to buy a shovel.

* * *

Tom Nook let me sell him all the things I've gotten from neighbors that I didn't want. He even took the stuff I just found lying in the dump for a reasonable price.

Well, reasonable for _him _anyway.

I noticed he had both a shovel and a net on his table and I pointed to them in question. "Hey Nook, how much are those?" I asked, he looked at them and nodded.

"500 bells each," He said, I paused for a moment in thought. "Would you like to buy them?" He asked impatiently and I almost laughed.

"Alright, alright; I'll buy 'em." I said, handing him the bells as he took the shovel and net off the table and gave them to me. I stuffed them in my back like I did everything else. It was amazing how much I could fit in here!

"Oh!" I said suddenly. "And I'll need some stationery too."

* * *

"Totakeke?"

"Yeah! You've never heard of him? He comes by here every Saturday night!" Emerald said excitedly. I wonder what Totakeke's like…

"Which means, he'll be here again tonight by the train station like clockwork!" Pippy squealed, her ears flopping about as she swayed. These two tore me away from my fossil gathering. I'd always loved dinosaurs as a kid, so I couldn't wait to see what kind I'd already dug up they'd turn out to be.

"What does he do?" I asked as I scribbled onto the stationary I bought, attaching the fossils to each letter and walking to the post office after making sure my neighbors would still follow.

"He's a musician, a guitarist to be exact." Said my new neighbor, Bluebear. She was with Emerald and Pippy when they started yapping, so I got to meet her too. Apparently there was already another new villager down near the bottom of the second level, too; just an acre away from Freya. I wonder if they'll be nice too.

Bluebear seemed nice, but also a gossip, it was irritating, but bearable. Heh, "bearable"…

Okay, I'll stop now.

She was literally a blue bear. A darker blue shade of fur made up the top of her head and covered her ears. She wore what looked like a yellow-plaid onesie of some sort.

"His music is great! We always go listen with the other villagers too! You should come with us, it'll be so much fun!" Pippy said, taking my hand in her paw and jumping up and down, anxiously awaiting my response. I laughed and pulled my hand away.

"Alright, alright! I'll go with you guys. My house is right next to the train station, so I'd probably have gone anyway, regardless of you asking me or not." I said with a smirk as she nodded happily.

"Oh, and dress nice too. It practically becomes a nightclub when you go there." Emerald warned and I blinked.

"But I thought he was a guitarist. And he sounds unplugged anyway, wouldn't it be acoustic?" I said and the animals all shared a look.

"Who cares?! All we've seen you in is a work uniform and that twinkle shirt we gave you! We wanna see some _real _fashion, girl! You had to have brought some of your clothes from where you lived before, right?" She asked desperately. Actually, I did bring more clothes from back home; I just thought they were too awesome to part with, so I took them with me.

"Well, yeah, I did bring more, but-"

"Great! Can't wait to see them tonight, by Star!" Bluebear said as the three of them left just as I opened the door to the post office. I shrugged with a light laugh and gave Pelly the letters for the museum and paused a moment.

"Is there something else you need?" Pelly asked and I nodded.

"I can make deposits here for my house, right?" I asked, not sure if I remembered Tom Nook's words correctly. The pelican nodded with a smile on her beak.

"Yes, Mr. Nook told me I'd be seeing you here making payments. How much would you like to put down today?" She asked sweetly and I paused.

"How much do I still owe?"

"17,400 bells." I cringed. Well, I made a fair amount selling more things to Tom Nook as I'd been going around today, so…

I put down a small bag of bells on her desk. "Just 2,000 for now, I guess." I said, she nodded and took the bells off her desk and put them away somewhere.

"Very well. You still owe 15,400 bells. Anything else I can do for you?" She asked ad I shook my head, already heading back to the door.

"Nope. Thanks Pelly, see you later."

* * *

I stopped to rest for a moment at the wishing well. I hadn't found any more fossils, so the ones I just mailed should be enough for today.

I blinked when I saw Buzz at the wishing well talking to the mayor. What's he doing here? One of the villagers told me he only comes to the wishing well when there's some sort of special event going on. It couldn't possibly be for Totakeke coming tonight, that doesn't seem to be quite up his alley.

I walked over to the two when the mayor glanced at me and gestured for me to come over. "Hello Star, how are you today?" He asked and I grinned.

"I'm alright, what're you doing here, Mayor Tortimer?" I asked and he chuckled before playing with his small beard absentmindedly.

"Please, just call me Tortimer- no need for the formalities," He said and I nodded, Buzz shaking his head in laughter. "And it's Idris Day today. I'm here to celebrate the coming of our wonderful village!" He said happily and I blinked.

"Oh, really? And what do you have in mind for celebrating exactly?" I asked, noticing Buzz behind the mayor waving his wings in an X-formation as if I wasn't supposed to ask that and I cocked my head to the side confusedly.

"Ah, yes. Here! I'm handing these out to all the whippersnappers of Idris as gifts. This one's yours to keep!" He said, suddenly taking out a large model of the train station from who knows where and giving it to me before I could so much as blink.

"What the…," I breathed, looking at the model questionably and casting the mayor a weary smile. "Um, thank you Tortimer. It's uh- it's great!" I said and he laughed before walking away slowly.

"Take good care of it now!" And with that he was gone, Buzz laughing at me with the station model weighing heavily in my hands. I groaned and set it down next to me.

"Oh shut up. Don't you have anything better to do than sit around laughing at a poor girl's misfortune?" I said irritably, surprisingly he shook his head.

"Not at the moment, no. Oh! But about your roof…" He started and I raised a brow at him.

"What _about _my roof?" I asked cautiously and the hawk just grinned.

"Well I painted it, just like you asked me to! It's black. I finished it a little while ago and I think you'll-"

"Wait," I cut him off and he stopped talking. "You painted my roof? _Black? _When the hell did I ask you to do that?!" I cried, where do these animals come from where they think people asked them to do such random things?

"I told you I just finished it. It looks great! Come on, I'll show you." He said, already going back to my house. I shouted in frustration and picked up the station model before running after the hawk.

* * *

Black. _Seriously, _a black roof.

All of Whisp's hard work, gone to waste.

I nearly dropped the station model in shock. I couldn't believe this.

"You like it?" Buzz asked, a grin breaking through his beak.

"I…," I muttered before shooting him a glare. "You son of a bitch! I never asked you to paint my roof! And why black, of all things?!" I cried, gesturing to the roof furiously after setting down the model. He blinked at me.

"So… You _don't _like it?" He asked, completely clueless and I growled.

"Paint it back!" I shouted and he waved his wings defensively.

"I ran out of paint! But hey- since you didn't actually ask for it, you don't have to pay me. So there you go, roof painted, free of charge." He said, resting his wings on his hips proudly, my shoulders were hunched over in defeat.

"Lucky me." I sighed before swinging my door open and placing the station model inside, it fitted perfectly between my radio and journal.

"Wow," Buzz started as he peeked inside. "Your house is _small." _He said and I shot him a look before sighing lightly.

"Gee, you're starting to sound just like the HRA," I turned to the doorway where he still stood. "Move it, Polly." I said, he blinked and moved out of the way at the mention of his new little nickname and I closed the door behind me.

"Well, I can give you an extra orange my parents sent me to make up for the roof. You want it?" He held out an orange he got from his pocket and I raised a brow at it.

"An orange doesn't make up for a roof disaster, but thanks anyway." I said simply and he shrugged.

"You can always bury it to get an orange tree instead. Tom Nook pays pretty well for food that's not local, yeah?" He said and I sighed before taking t from his open wing.

"Alright whatever. Thanks I guess."

He sighed lightly from behind me and I blinked. "Well, I gotta go now. See you later Star!" He said and was gone before I could so much a touch his wing and I growled at the now empty space.

"Damn birds…"

* * *

I knocked on the door of the second house that'd been marked in acre E-5 on the train station's map. Since finding the two new neighbors there, I took up the task of marking each villager's house on my own map as well. It'll make for finding them a lot less stressful in the long run.

I heard a female voice not far away and I thought for a moment that I was going crazy. I couldn't tell if it was coming from inside or not…

"Hi there!" I yelped in surprise at the female voice just inches from my ear and turned in surprise to its owner.

It was another elephant like Dizzy, except she was yellow instead of grey.

"I'm Eloise, I just moved in today! Did you want to speak to me?" She asked sweetly. Her trunk had a green tip and there a finely groomed tuft of brown hair forming bangs on her forehead. She also wore a blue and yellow-striped dress. She seemed really nice. That's good.

"H-Hi, I'm Star. I just wanted to welcome you into the neighborhood, I live in acre B-3, by the way. You scared the hell outta me there." I laughed sheepishly and she gasped.

"Oh! I'm so sorry about that! And it's nice to meet you, Star." She smiled.

"Nice to meet you too. How're you settling in here? Need any help?" I asked and she giggled lightly.

"I'm doing well so far, thank you! I moved here to be a little closer to my boyfriend, actually," I blinked. I wonder… Could it be Dizzy? They're both elephants, even though a cross-species relationship isn't exactly uncommon. "Oh, speaking of, I would like a little help actually. You see, he likes to collect bugs. I, for one, _hate _the things; they're so gross! But now he wants me to help him catch for him! The way they fly so close to my trunk all the time… Ugh, it scares me! Do you think you could help me out by catching one for me? It'd be a huge help for me if you did." Eloise pleaded.

I paused in thought; I guess there wouldn't be any problem helping her out, and it doesn't seem like she has a net to catch anything with either. "Sure. Why not? Shouldn't be too hard." I smiled and she grinned wide.

"Yay! Thanks Star!" She cheered and I laughed.

"In fact," I paused to point at a bug I just spotted on a tree. "I think this one shouldn't be a problem, yeah?" I turned to her in question and she nodded.

I held up my net and crept to the bug; it was big, but also colorful and silent. It looked like a beetle of some sort. It didn't seem to notice me even as I was right behind the thing and swung my net down on it, holding part of it closed so it wouldn't escape.

"Got it! You have a box we can put it in?" I asked her as she clapped and she gasped, saying yes before running into her house and coming back with a plastic box that had slits on the sides so the thing wouldn't suffocate. I quickly pressed the net into the side and the beetle flew in just as Eloise closed the box.

"That was fast, thank you so much, Star! Here, you can have this chair I brought with me when I moved in," She slid a chair to me and I grinned; finally, a place to sit in my house that isn't the floor. "I can't put it anywhere in my house without making it look out of place." She laughed sheepishly.

"Great, thanks Eloise. My place could use a chair to sit in for a change." I laughed and she nodded before leaving, probably to give her boyfriend the bug we caught.

"Hi Star!" I screamed at the new voice that practically scared me to death. Geez, what was it with people and scaring me like that lately? Ever since I met Whisp it's just been a disaster.

It was Freya. She was grinning at me and I felt like she was up to something immediately.

"Freya? What're you doing here?" I asked and her ears twitched slightly.

"What? A girl can't say 'hi' to her neighbors?" She asked innocently. I shook my head and she sighed. "Alright, fine. You wanna play a game?"

I raised a brow at her suspiciously before nodding. "Sure. What do you do?"

"Great! Now, you pick from one of these three cards. If you pick the one I'm thinking of, then I give you something, but if you pick wrong, then I take something of yours and there's nothing you can do about it!" She laughed and I inwardly frowned. Swell, now that I've agreed to it, I can't back out.

She held up three different cards in her paws, grinning mischievously. She probably didn't even pick a card herself, if I had to guess. After a few moments I pointed at the one in the middle and she laughed loudly.

"I knew it! I knew you'd pick the wrong one! And so," Se put the cards away and touched the chair I just got from Eloise. "I'll be taking your office chair. Thanks for playing!" She sneered and I growled before pulling away from the chair.

"Oh c'mon! Freya- I literally _just _got this chair!" I whined and the wolf just shook her head.

"Sorry! That's how the game works! Bye Star!" She dragged the chair back toward her house with a smile on her snout.

_I hate her so much. _

* * *

I walked to the hill going from the second level to the first and blinked when I saw something… Different.

There was bright yellow tent pitched up just at the base of the hill. It looked old, but used too. There was a voice coming from inside and I walked a little closer to it and recognized the voice as deep and obviously belonging to a male. I peeked inside warily.

"Who the heck are you?" The deep voice asked, I took a moment to adjust to the change in lighting. The voice belonged to a wolf. A small part of me already knew this one would be trouble just like Freya. His fur was dark blue, almost black, with white tips at his cheeks.

"Um, sorry to barge in. I just never see anyone camping out in the middle of a town, that's all." I said, walking into the tent. There was a rolled up sleeping bag in one corner with a small lantern in the opposite. The wolf frowned at me from where he stood in the center.

"I'm just camping out here for the weekend. I travel," He said simply and walked over to me. "Name's Wolfgang." He extended his paw toward me and I glanced at it for a moment.

"Star." I said, reaching out and shaking his paw. I pulled back after a moment and he grinned.

"Hey, you wanna play a game?" Uh-oh.

I immediately pulled away toward the open flap of the tent. "Oh no you don't. I'm not playing anymore of your wolf's games." I said quickly.

"Oh come on!" Wolfgang whined. "Don't be a pussy. It's just a stupid card game!"

I shot him a look that would've frozen him in place if he were someone else. "Dick." I growled.

"Sorry, no; Wolfgang. Not Dick Wolf." He fired back. I paused for a moment before smiling and walking back out into the open.

"You like camping, obviously," I started, bending down and picking up the flap. Wolfgang eyed me warily. "Maybe you'd be into the isolation treatment." I grabbed the zipper and pulled it around the flap, closing it all the way. I could hear Wolfgang cursing at me madly and I could see where he was attempting to beat the flap down with his paws.

"What kind of traveler gets a tent with the zipper on the _out_side? Try again, Wolfgang!"

* * *

"Hey Star! What's up?" Dizzy called out to me and I stopped in my tracks, looked at him, and headed toward him.

"Hey Dizzy. Not much," I sighed and plopped down on the ground next to the river, my legs dangling over the edge and my shoes just barely touching the water. "Hey, you're a nice guy- er, elephant, maybe you can make my day." I said and he raised a brow at me and sat down next to me.

"Why? What's with you?" He asked concernedly.

"Buzz painted my roof black- which I hate right now- and Freya took away some furniture that I actually liked. That stupid game she's got going has just got to be a scam or something, right?" I asked him and his trunk swayed a little curiously.

"Oh, I get it; Freya had you play that game? Nobody ever wins that thing," He laughed. "And _black? _Why'd he think you wanted it black?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Beats the hell outta me. Do you have anything you need done, by any chance?" I asked and he paused, I raised a brow at him. "Dizzy?"

"Is that a common dragonfly you have there?" He asked, a new serious tone in his voice and I frowned. It was true- I caught one on the way here. How did he even see that?

"Um… Yeah. Do you like bugs?" I asked and he immediately nodded.

"See, when I was a kid, my grandfather always told me 'Any critters you catch, make them fat and happy!'" He said in a deep voice and I almost snorted. "But then he got bit by a common dragonfly! Since then I've wanted to catch all of the things and make all of 'em fat and happy!" He said determinedly and I blinked.

"That sounded weird, didn't it?" He asked nervously and I gave a light laugh, nodding.

"Yeah, just a bit." I smiled.

"Okay, fine! But could I have your common dragonfly, in memory of my grandfather?" He asked and I nodded slowly, handing him the bug I'd put in a box when I caught the thing. He grinned wide. "I mean, he's not dead or anything, but still! I love these little bugs!" He said, swaying the box this way and that.

I laughed before remembering something. "Hey Dizzy, do you have a girlfriend?" I asked and He froze, looking at me curiously. "I was just wondering, 'cause we got a new villager today named Eloise. She's an elephant too and she was telling me she had to catch a bug as a present for her boyfriend that lived here. Would that be you by any chance?" I asked, smirking when his face heated up slightly. I left out the part about her asking me to catch it for her, just in case he was her boyfriend after all.

"U-Uh, yeah, Eloise is my girlfriend, actually. She gave me a jewel beetle! I was surprised, those things are actually pretty rare!" He grinned before gasping and looking at the sky.

"The sun's going down already, it's almost nighttime," He paused to stand up and looked at me. "Are you going to see Totakeke tonight? He's just an acre away from your house, after all." He said and I smiled, standing up as well.

"Yeah, your closer neighbors, Emerald, Pippy and Bluebear told me about him this morning. I'll check it out, but I'm pretty sure if I try to leave, they'll tie me down or something." I laughed and he nodded.

"Yeah, those three are pretty crazy," He chuckled before heading back to his house again. "Well I have to go get ready and get Eloise before getting there, see you tonight, Star!" He said and closed the door behind him.

I sighed and walked back home. Might as well have some time to myself before I get ready to be dragged away by animals as crazy as teenage girls on a sugar high.

* * *

My watch said 7:30 and I decided I should just get dressed now before it was too late. I went through the drawers filled with both clothes I've gotten from the villagers and ones I brought from home. Since they wanted to see my previous wardrobe, I pulled out a dress I bought before moving here.

It was completely different from what I've seen everyone wear here, but I didn't care. Besides, it was nighttime, nobody would probably notice the difference anyway.

It was shorter, for one, and just black. Leather straps went over my shoulders and the skirt was pleated with small, round studs on the bottom. There was also a belt that went from my stomach to the middle of my back; asymmetrical, sure, but I personally thought it was badass.

By the time I managed to zip up my boots, I heard a knocking at my door and I swung it open to find Pippy grinning widely at me with Emerald and Bluebear not far off. They all wore simple dresses, Pippy wearing red with white stripes, Emerald wearing blue with polka dots and Bluebear wearing tan with different colored stars.

"Whoa! The clothes where you're from really are different from the way they are here!" Pippy squealed.

"Yeah! Can I borrow it some time?" Emerald asked eagerly and I immediately shook my head after closing my door behind me.

"No way. I've done enough jobs for you guys to know what happens when someone borrows something." I warned and the girls all zipped their mouths shut before pulling me away and toward the train station.

"Alright, fine- let's just go already! Totakeke's about to start playing!" Bluebear said as she pushed me forward, despite my protests.

Everyone was scattered about the front of the station, albeit a very small group, since there weren't that many villagers and there wasn't anyone who I'd seen in the shop or other buildings. Even Wolfgang was here, chatting it up with Freya like there was no tomorrow. I carefully dodged him so as not to ruin the night for everyone.

Someone new… He sat on the small wooden block between the map and the stairs. A white dog… A terrier, maybe? A beagle? No… It's like he's a generic dog or something; can't place a specific breed or anything.

But he looked just… God damn adorable. I fought the urge to run up and play with his floppy ears. He was busy tuning his acoustic guitar.

"That's him! That's Totakeke!" Emerald whispered in my ear excitedly. At the mention of him name he looked up at us in question and smiled.

"My name may be Totakeke, but when I'm playing here you can just call me K.K. Sliider." He said coolly, his voice smooth like silk. He picked at a couple strings, creating a short but beautiful sound. I blinked and smiled at the dog.

"If you can create something so great that just lasts two seconds, then why aren't you going where you get rich off it?" I asked with my hand resting on my hip, I saw him glance at my dress and a playful twinkle flashed in his eyes for a moment.

"I'm just about the music, man; not the money. I don't need to be famous and rich to enjoy playing music. Commercialism ain't my bag," He said and paused a moment before looking at me more directly. "You got a request? I'll play whatever you wanna hear, just say what it is, miss…" He raised a brow at me and I laughed.

"Star. Call me Star." I said and Totakeke grinned.

"Cool. Nice name. So, you got a request or what?" He asked and I cocked my head to the side.

"Surprise me."

He nodded and tuned his guitar for a few moments and I took my chance to go back a few steps where Pippy and the other girls were watching with excitement glistening in their eyes.

"Wow Star! You were like a pro over there! He even asked you for your name!" Emerald squealed.

"Yeah, he's so cute! I kinda thought you'd be shy around guys like that. How'd you do that?" Pippy asked, one of her ears flopped over.

I shot her a ghost of a smile and I saw Totakeke blink at me out of the corner of my eye as he finished tuning his guitar.

"Let's just say I decided to stop being afraid."

Totakeke cleared his throat loudly, instantly getting the villagers' attention. He shifted in his seat and readied his guitar in his ready paws.

"Alright, folks of Idris- you came here for some tunes? You got 'em right here! Dig this one," He glanced at me for a moment and a smile graced his fuzzy features. "K.K. Chorale."

Everyone clapped for a few moments before falling into complete silence as he started strumming his guitar lightly, caringly almost. The tune was soft and rang in my ears like the bells that rang every time an angel got its wings.

He started singing; it sounded Japanese, but I wasn't sure what it meant. It was almost like a lullaby… Just as peaceful, just as serene.

It made me forget; forget all of it.

The nightmare from last night, all the ones before. Everything from back home and… Just everything.

If only for just a few minutes.

It was like everything faded away. Everything but me, and Totakeke; the music. I was barely aware of Pippy and Emerald pushing me a little closer, Pippy's paw unconsciously snaking through my hair.

It felt like an entire year had passed the moment he stopped singing, and then stopped playing. The guitar was now silent as the villagers all applauded. Totakeke grinned and set his guitar down beside him.

"Thank you, Idris! Cool to see you guys here tonight; it's like clockwork, man. It's great," He glanced at me. "And even better to get a newcomer."

I grinned as he stood from his wooden block, it almost seemed unnatural; like he was made to sit there and never go. The villagers began to disperse, even the girls left me alone with the dog, whispering this and that as they went back home for the night.

"You want the aircheck, Star?" He asked and I paused.

"Aircheck?" He chuckled and shook his head, his ears flopping this way and that.

"The recording, the _music. _I was checkin' out how you zoned out there- you got lost in my tune," He paused and took out a small disc- a CD, I thought- and held it up to me. "You can have K.K. Chorale. If," He jerked it away from my grasp when I reached out for it and I frowned. "You promise to stick around with me after my show next Saturday." He said.

I paused and smiled at him. "You mean like I am right now?" I said, my smile turning into a smirk. He laughed and nodded, placing the disc in my hand.

"See you then, Star."

He grabbed his guitar and walked up to the train station, speaking to the conductor and walking on the train in complete silence.

And then he was gone.

I smiled at the disc as I walked back into my house, placing it in my radio, and letting the music play as I changed out of my dress and into my pajamas for the night.

Who'd have thought I'd get a date with a musician? Not me, that's for sure. Isn't that like every girl's dream? I've never dated before. Ever.

What should I do? Call it off? No… I've done that too many times, I'll do it. This is my new life- my new beginning. I have to make the most of it.

I have to change, and Totakeke's giving me the chance to do it.

* * *

**I'm sure we all hated it when an NPC painted your roof _black _of all things without you knowing. Yes, Buzz actually painted my roof black. I was pissed. And yes, later on he gave me an orange like 'would you like an orange to make you happy?' Ugh! Buzz you're so confusing! And also yes, Freya literally took the furniture I had just gotten from Eloise and _then _Wolfgang took my other favorite piece of furniture.**

**The wolves of this game are just murdering my image of them being awesome.**

**I know NPCs don't actually date, but when I met Eloise in my neighborhood this morning I just thought 'man, if only she could be with Dizzy, they're adorable!'**

**And oh my god! This afternoon both Pippy and Bluebear left my game! They left Emerald alone and so quick too! And why at the same time? I've never heard of this happening before! It sucks!**

**We'll meet Blathers next time...god I love that owl. Maybe Sahara too, since I met her in my game today too, and the turnip boar...and the blank-faced cat.**

**REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**see you next time**


	4. Day 9: Broken Shell

**New chapter, yay!**

**Alright, so this one isn't as much about the world we all love known as Animal Crossing. No- this one's more emotional.**

**Now, that's not to say you don't still get to meet more special NPCs. In fact, there's 3 in this one. Aand a mention of a 4th if that even counts.**

**On with the chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Day 9: Broken Shell**

I need to learn to pace myself.

Today was the day I finally brought everything I'd gathered to the museum; see what counted. But considering my procrastination and how much I found in fossils, bugs… Even the paintings I wasn't sure they'd take, if it wasn't for Tom Nook letting me borrow a cart it would've taken me all day just to get everything back and forth.

Although getting said cart down the hill to second level without breaking my neck was proving to be a little more… Difficult.

I gritted my teeth and pushed the cart, hoping to get it down slowly by pushing it as I myself inched down the hill as well, the cart facing me as I just trusted my footing.

"Come on… Just a little more…" I breathed, taking another cautious step backward.

"More than that, Star! You're only halfway there!" Scoot quacked from the cliff of the first level. His house being right next to the hill, so he saw me running around quite often.

I glared at him and prayed my small body was enough to hold the much larger cart in place for just a little bit longer. "Y'know Scoot… It'd be a _huge _deal for me if you just… Helped me out here." I called up to him and he just laughed.

"With these wings? Good luck with that!" And with that he was gone, probably off to visit our new neighbor, Pate. She was a duck just like him, only more of a purplish color, her eyes seemingly forever frozen into a squint. She was really sweet though, unlike _Scoot._

"Shitbird…" I muttered under my breath, getting just a little bit farther with the cart. But then…

My feet slid out from underneath me, my wrist twisting in an unnatural direction and my face paled immediately at both the pain and the realization of the cart giving way.

I yelped and rolled out of the way just as the cart dashed down the hill, nearly hitting a fellow Idris villager, and then slamming into a tree.

"No!" I cried, shooting up from where I lay on the ground and gritting my teeth at the sudden jolt of pain burning through my wrist and the rest of my body.

The villager, now taken away from their shock of seeing a rolling cart on its own, suddenly hurried to my side in immediate concern.

"Citizen! Are you alright?" They asked quickly, now I could see them completely. He was a dog- white with hints of an orange-ish brown on his face and trailing down his bushy tail. He was wearing a police uniform too… Oh, I get it… He's a cop.

"Miss! Miss, are you okay? Can you hear me?!" He asked urgently and I finally gathered the sense to respond.

"I-I'm fine. But the… Wait, who're you…?" I said, feeling my mind drifting back here and there. Did I hit my head or something?

"You're not fine. Keep calm, Miss; I'm taking you to the station." I heard the dog speak before fuzzy arms scooped me off the ground, feeling everything shake as he walked back to wherever the station was and abandoning the cart.

"No w-wait," I stuttered, glancing over to where I think the cart was. "I-I have to get that to… To the museum." I breathed, frustrated that I couldn't just get up and walk to it myself.

"I'll send Booker out here to get it, okay?" He said and I involuntarily groaned at the sudden jolt from jostling my wrist slightly. "First we get you taken care of."

* * *

"Feeling better now?"

I blinked painfully against the fluorescent lights in the building, holding an ice pack to my head with my good hand, the other bandaged up tightly. I was on the floor and leaning against one of the tables in the room.

"Define 'better,'" I sighed and the dog chuckled lightly. He sent another dog- who I could only assume was Booker- down to get the cart we'd left by the hill. "Thanks though. Now… Who are you? And… Where am I?" I asked, still attempting to piece everything else together. I guess I really did hit my head on _something; _maybe when I fell and rolled on the ground, or maybe I hit the side of the cliff when I fell too.

"I'm Officer Copper," He smiled, tipping his hate toward me. "We're in the police station now. Booker should be back soon with your cart. What were you doing with so many things you'd need a cart, Miss…" He trailed off and I blinked.

"Oh, Star," I said and he nodded. "I was taking things I'd gathered to the museum. Turning in fossils I dug up, and I heard they take things like bugs and fish too; and then I wasn't sure if they took paintings too, but I found a couple, so I just figured… Why not give it a shot? Since the place is even reaching out to people who're just moving in, they must be desperate for something to show off, right?" I said and Copper sighed lightly.

"This is true. It's a real shame, too. The building is very well put-together and the curator is kind as well." He said and I nodded, regretting in doing so when my head suddenly ached like someone whacked me with a baseball bat and moving the ice pack around carefully.

"I see… Hey, Tom Nook told me once while I was in his shop that you guys here know a lot about the current events and such; any good gossip going around these days?" I asked with a small smile.

"We'll be starting morning aerobics tomorrow, I'm coaching, by the way, and they'll be going on the rest of the summer. Although," He paused in his prideful gesture to point at me- more specifically, my hand- and frown. "With that hand, you probably won't be able to join us for a little while." He said.

"O-Oh really, what a shame," I muttered, a small part of me glad I wouldn't be watched by a drill sergeant until I was better. "What time do they start?"

"6a.m." Yikes.

"Wow, I uh… Well I'll certainly try to make it when I can." I laughed nervously and Copper nodded with a smile before he blinked.

"Do you believe in unrequited love?"

I froze and looked up at the officer in mild surprise. "E-Excuse me?" I asked with a raised brow, suddenly afraid this was going to go somewhere else entirely.

"You've met Pelly and Pete at the post office, correct?" A small sigh of relief.

"I know Pelly, but uh… Wait, who's Pete?"

"Pete is the postman. When the letters need to be delivered, he's the one who takes them from house to house. I believe you can catch him on his rounds at both 9a.m. and 5p.m. I myself haven't had a chance to talk to him." He sighed heavily and I frowned.

"So you think that… He and Pelly are an item?" I asked and Copper nodded again.

"Yes- well, maybe not. One-sided, at least." He said.

"Hm… Curious," I trailed off into a smirk. "Now I kinda want to find out too." I gave a light laugh and Copper smiled.

"So how are you feeling?" He asked, I looked up at him more directly but lowered my eyes when the brightness of the lights made my head hurt even more.

"Like I called Buzz a sissy, that's how." I sighed, raising my hand to my forehead, though flinching when I felt it was actually my bandaged one instead. Copper frowned and knelt down in front of me.

"Why don't you stay here at the station a little bit longer? Seems like you took a bigger spill then I thought," He said and I gave my thanks and nodded slowly. His ear twitched at a noise coming from outside. "That must be Booker with your things. I'll go report to him that you'll be here a while. Do you want some water? Something to eat maybe?" He asked.

If my situation were any different I would've accepted right off the bat, but the moment I sat up to speak, my stomach did flips and turns and caused a feeling of nausea to sweep over me in an instant. I inwardly groaned and leaned back against the table.

"Ugh, no I uh… I-I'm good. Thanks anyway, Copper." I breathed and shut my eyes for a few moments, thankfully able to rid my mind of the idea of so much as moving from this one spot. I could almost feel him send me a concerned look before going outside.

I opened my eyes again and lowered them to my hand and sighed.

"What's wrong with me?"

* * *

"Okay, I think I can manage from here. Thanks Booker." I smiled at the bulldog who helped me push the cart down to the museum from the station. Luckily the two were only an acre apart, so I didn't feel as bad as I would have if it were farther away.

Booker was a little… Rounder than Copper was. His uniform fit tightly over his body and his eyes looked heavy and bloodshot as if he couldn't handle the nightshift.

"Are you sure? Copper said to make sure you get there okay." He said in his deep voice and I smiled slightly.

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure 'in the building itself' qualifies as 'getting there'. I'll come by to thank you guys when I'm done here. I promise, okay?" I said, eager to get what was supposed to be a simple stop at the museum over. The dog nodded and said his goodbyes before leaving.

I sighed and pulled the cart all the way inside, fighting the dizziness trying to take control and marveling at the building itself. Aside from the red rugs leading into separate rooms marked with a fish, bug, dinosaur and a painting- it almost looked more like a church with those rose windows plugged into every wall, reflecting bright, beautiful colors on the tiled floor.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I called out. Where's the curator when you need him? All I could find was an owl sleeping like a rock near the back corner of the room and-

Wait.

I tapped the owl's shoulder and he began to stir. "Um… Hello? Are you in charge here?" I asked, just loudly enough to get him to wake up and look at me groggily.

"Uh… Wha- phrum… hooaahh- AHH!" He suddenly shot up, fully awake and I flinched back, covering my ears at his squawking as it made my headache worse. "Hoo! What? Who goes there?!" He shrieked, flapping his wings wildly.

"Would you just calm the _fuck _down?!" I shouted over him and he froze. I sighed in relief and lowered my arms. "_I'm _what 'goes there', what's your name?" I said, hoping he calmed down finally. The owl sighed and bowed apologetically.

"I see, oh, I'm _so _sorry about that. I'm just a tad bit sleepy…," He rubbed sleep out of his eyes for a moment and smiled. "My name is Blathers, and I'm the curator of this museum. Or rather… What should be a museum. As you can see, we're lacking a bit in the exhibit department- a real bother, it is, eh wot? We haven't had a donation in quite some time… Oh, I'm sure you know how it is- what with the emptiness, vacant space, seeing people trade potential exhibit pieces back and forth like _trading cards, _the lo-"

"Okay! Okay, Blathers. I uh… I get it. Anyway, about donations." I started, thankfully I managed to stop him and he looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Oh! Have you come here to give a donation? What surely exquisite, priceless item do you have for us today?" He asked happily and I gulped. Those words were enough to make anyone nervous if they weren't sure what he considered "exquisite" and "priceless".

I moved aside and gestured to the cart near the doorway. "Whatever counts as a donation in all this." I said. His eyes widened so much I was afraid they'd pop right out of his skull.

"Thank you…," He whispered before dive-bombing into the pile of things- albeit carefully, considering they were all here for him. "THANK YOU MISS!" I laughed uneasily and stepped aside to the open doorway.

"Um… I'm gonna need to bring this cart back to Tom Nook, Blathers." I said, touching the handle of it lightly. The giddy owl emerged from the pile and smiled at me, his brown feathers poking out here and there.

"Not to worry, Miss. I'll bring the cart back to Mr. Nook myself! Thank you for the kind donations! I hope to see more of them in the future!"

I sighed lightly and walked away from the museum. Blathers was a nice guy, and that little beak and bowtie practically made him as cute as a stuffed animal- but _damn, _he got crazy when it came to waking him up and giving him donations. I wondered for a moment if when I came there with one item at a time he'd start spewing little facts and know-how about each and every little thing.

That's Idris for you- we're all crazy. One can't simply "be normal" around here. No- you have to join in on the fun sooner or later.

* * *

I headed back to the station as promised. But I almost froze in my tracks when I saw someone else there as well, conversing with Copper. Both of them turned their heads towards me approaching when one of them probably spotted me first.

"Eloise? What're you doing here?" I asked the elephant as I came to a stop in front of the two animals. She gasped and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Oh, Star! I was walking by when Copper told me what happened- are you okay? No amputations while you were busy?!" She cried into my hair and I winced, trying to breathe as best I could.

"Um… E-Eloise? I can't breathe… A little room here…?" She thankfully pulled away and I took in heavy breaths of air again. "And I'm pretty sure all my limbs are still here, too." I said once I regained my breath and composure, my hand resting over the injured wrist of the other carefully.

"Good! Now come on, Star. Let's get you back home." She went to take my hand but I jerked away at the last second.

"Say what? No Eloise- I still have other things to do! And besides, it's only noon! C'mon-"

"It's better you just go back home again, Miss Star. We didn't decide when you'd get hurt, after all." Copper cut in and I shot him a look.

"You put her up to this, didn't you?" I pointed at him accusingly and he cleared his throat before frowning at me.

"Possibly."

I swallowed back an insult; this guy was the law, I'm pretty sure it's against the law itself to do stuff like that. I sighed and turned to Eloise. "Let's go then."

She clapped eagerly and walked up ahead of me. I paused and turned to Copper who looked at me in question.

"Thank you for everything. You and Booker." I said and fast-walked after Eloise, not waiting to hear what he would have to say.

"So you live in acre B-3, right?" She asked and I sighed with a light nod.

"Yeah… But, come on, Eloise. I'm fine, really. You don't have to do this, okay?" I pressed on, the last thing I wanted was someone worrying and following me all day. I won't deny it though… Being worried about did feel nice, in its own way. But it seemed like too much a hassle on their part.

"Nonsense! Besides, Copper said you'd need help anyway," She said as we walked up the familiar hill to the first level. "Just let me help my disturbingly independent friend, okay?" She said sweetly and I bit my lip.

"Gee, glad to know I'm disturbing to the observing eye, huh?" I laughed humorlessly. Eloise opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by a familiar quacking not far off.

"Whoa! Star, what happened to you?" Scoot laughed as he walked up to us. I glared and took a warning step close to the duck and he stopped.

"This is your fault, you feathered, kid-biting… Asshole." I seethed, automatically hating myself for not having come up with something better.

"What? What do you mean 'my fault'?! It's not my fault you decided to move that giant cart down a hill like that!" He shouted, Eloise watching us both warily.

"Ah ha! You were watching still, weren't you?! You wouldn't help me with the damn thing! All you did was laugh at me and walk away- probably to chat up Pate or something too! Oh, _real _productive!" I shouted, feeling my anger rise and my vision once again swim; what's wrong with me? Sure he didn't help me, but still…

"Yeah, well at least I have someone to chat up, little miss fall for a traveling musician! I hear you playing that song he gave you all the time now! It's ridiculous!" I could almost see red under those green feathers of his.

"And here I thought you couldn't even use words longer than three syllables- you leave my personal life out of this!" I staggered forward until I was face to face with him. He was just a little shorter than I was.

"Oh no you don't! I'm bringin' it back in! You're only bitter about it 'cause you're the only human here- aren't you?! That's all you really want! You don't even like me- let alone the other animal-villagers! Why don't you just go back to your mommy and daddy, huh?!"

"I don't care how many humans aren't here, numb nuts! I can't go back! I couldn't even if I wanted to, okay?! I. Can't. Go. Back!" I breathed heavily, my throat burning and my body heavy.

Scoot shut up at that one, his eyes wide with shock and his beak practically sealed shut. I was numbly aware of several other villagers nearby, all looking at us- mostly me, now- with a completely dumbstruck expression. Everything was spinning, my stomach twisted painfully.

"Star…?" Eloise's voice shot through the haze like a bullet and I gasped at the feeling. I felt the ground touch my knees and I thought for a moment that everyone else had gotten taller.

"Star!"

Something picked me up. The mass of green I was pretty sure was Scoot seemed to back away, as if afraid getting too close would set something off.

Then it all went dark. The voices dulled and the colors faded, leaving only my own. Is this _really _what people come across when leaving for a new life?

Right now… I wasn't really liking it.

* * *

The music wasn't playing.

That was the first thing I really noticed when I came to. Totakeke's music wasn't playing, that was why I had another nightmare. Someone turned it off… Not me, so somebody must be in here with me. Where…? Who decided to put up with me?

It was dark outside. Did the sun go down already? But it was only noon, I thought… I still had a lot to do. Paying off more for my house, I was so close… I think I remember Pelly telling me "You still owe 1,400 bells." in that cheery voice of hers. Helping Dizzy collect more common dragonflies and more donations for Blathers…

Voices. Two voices that weren't my own. Where were they…? They sounded close.

"How is she?" One of them asked; they sounded like a girl… Well, that didn't help. There were only like three guys around here that didn't work in the shops or other things.

"Still down for the count. What should we do? Ugh, what kind of village doesn't have a doctor?!" The second voice cried, the loudness of their voice made my head feel like it was about to crack open. They sounded like a girl too…

"Keep your voice down already, Eloise. I guess you elephants sure live up to your name, huh?" the first voice teased and the second… Eloise… Whined.

"I take offense to that."

I cracked my eyes open painfully, for the moment I was glad it was dark, otherwise the light would've probably blinded me.

I must've groaned or something, because two figures in the doorway suddenly jumped in surprise and looked at me as if I'd come back from the dead. It sure felt like that right now, that's for sure.

"She's awake!" The closest figure- who I recognized as Eloise- cheered. The second figure watched with caution. They were _really _tall. I remembered meeting another new neighbor over the last few days named Tutu; she was a white bear- a really big white bear, too.

"Hey guys," I groaned groggily and rubbed my eye with my good hand. "What're you doing… In my house?" I asked, unable to hide the want to fall asleep again for some reason.

Eloise let out a choked sound and pulled me up carefully. "Star, we were all so worried about you!" Wow, talk about deja-vu. "When you just passed out like that, we all thou-"

"Wait… What? Passed out?" I interrupted, Eloise and Tutu shared a look before looking at me. There was a sort of… Fear, in their eyes.

Then I remembered. All of it.

I was hurt taking everything to the museum, and Eloise had to take me back home. On the way we saw Scoot, and then… Then we just started arguing; voices escalating, words becoming more and more hurtful. And then… Then it all just stopped.

"Scoot got on you about your home town and you said… Some things. After you did, you just collapsed. Buzz helped us bring you back here and since then… Well, it's just been this for hours." Tutu said softly, ducking under my door to get inside the seemingly uncomfortably sized room that was my house.

"Oh… Well, um…," I paused and stared at the floor. "What time is it?" I asked them and they shared a confused look.

"Close to 1:30a.m." Eloise muttered and my breath hitched. I've been asleep for over twelve hours? _And _they've all been checking in on me since then?

"I'm sorry." I muttered, so low they didn't hear me.

"What was that, Star?" Tutu asked, one of her ears tilted slightly further outward in order to hear me better.

I sighed. "I said, I'm sorry… Okay?" I averted my eyes from the two who frowned.

"For what?"

"Because all day- or I guess yesterday now- has basically been 'hey let's take care of Star the hopeless loser because she can't do anything right' or something." I said quickly, just wanting this painfully long moment to end, and pulled my legs closer to my chest. I'd hoped to get through this "new life" I craved so much without having to go through anything like this again.

So much for that.

I felt two pairs of arms wrap around me. "Oh, Star. You're not hopeless; that's crazy talk!" Tutu cooed.

"And look at how much you've done for us! You've done plenty of things right- just think of this as returning the favor, okay? Besides, we're friends, aren't we? It's what we do!" Eloise tightened her grip on me and I bit my lip, fighting the tears that threatened to rise.

"Now that that's out of the way," Tutu started, releasing me and stepping back. "Until you're at 100% again, we'll be watching you like a hawk- got it?"

"But we already have one hawk in Idris. I think that's enough." I said and the two girls laughed.

"You know what we mean, Star! Don't expect to be given _any _work by anybody until you're better. We'll be all over you like glue." I gasped slightly.

"But what about when Totakeke's here tomorrow night?" I asked urgently, forgetting that I probably could've gotten away with saying "tonight" instead.

"Don't worry. By the time you even see him, he'll probably have already heard about what happened, and then he'll sing a pretty love song and then you'll be on a date, and- Oh gosh, it's gonna be great!" Eloise squealed happily and I almost laughed.

"Great, but I don't know if I want him knowing about this." I gestured to my injured hand and everything going on now. The two animal girls nodded and shrugged.

"Just because we promised doesn't keep gossip from spreading. Goodnight Star, we need to get to bed ourselves. One of us will be here tomorrow to watch you!" Eloise warned me as both she and Tutu started to walk out of my house before starting to close the door behind them. "And Star?"

I blinked at the doorway, the moonlight creating a nightlight of sorts in the center of my room. "Yeah?"

Eloise smiled before slipping through the door completely. "Glad to see you're okay."

And then just darkness. Darkness and silence. I turned on my radio, hearing the pleasant tune of K.K. Chorale once again. I moved back against the wall, my knees close to my chest under the blanket.

They stayed with me. They stayed with me for _so _long and weren't even tired of me. It felt strange… And good.

But it didn't stop me from feeling just as shitty as while I fought with Scoot. Should I apologize to him? Probably. But not yet… I can't.

Not when I was still as broken as when I first got here.

It'd be a waste of breath.

* * *

**So...yes? No?**

**I always imagined that if you put Copper in a situation where he didn't stand outside the station or at the wishing well coaching aerobics, he'd be a pretty easy guy- 'scuse me, dog- to talk to. Proper and police-y, but still pretty great.**

**And Blathers is...well, Blathers, there's not much I can do that hasn't already been done by the people who made him.**

**I always hated Scoot. I have a bad history with ducks in general, but he takes the cake. He's always a dick to me every time I talk to him, he makes fun of me as much as Buzz does, except in a more irritating way. So think of this as my personal payback, if you will...I guess. I don't really care, call it whatever you want**

**REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**see you next time where we get closer to having the normal Animal Crossing world back and not as much drama(probably)**


	5. Day 10: Healing Process

**HOLY CRAP OFFICIALLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN IN MY LIFE EVER!**

**I don't even know how this happened! I guess the things I wanted to write about got dragged on a bit longer than I thought they would...damn.**

**Ok so, idk what happened last time- but either people hated the sudden drama I put in the last chapter and gave up on me, or nobody got a chance to read it. maybe you didn't get the notification, that's always a possibility. Who knows**

**enjoy this CRAZY long chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Day 10: Healing Process**

Someone was outside my door. I could hear things moving around, clawed feet shuffling on the river rock that surrounded my acre.

I attempted to rub the sleep out of my eyes- albeit rather poorly- and shuffled to the door and opened it with my good hand.

"Morning, Star!" A familiar deep voice belonging to a certain hawk standing in front of my door, grinning despite the restrictions his beak provided.

"Morning, Buzz. Um… What're you doing here?" I asked tiredly.

"Eloise told you one of us would be here in the morning, didn't she?" I nodded. "Well, I'm the one she chose to keep you in line for the day! How'd you sleep?" He asked after lowering his prideful stance.

"Oh… I um- I slept fine, yeah," A lie. I hadn't gone back to sleep since I woke up to find my own neighbors in my home; it was past ten now and I hadn't done anything except listen to K.K. Chorale in the dark. "How are yo…" I paused when I noticed a paint can tucked under his wing, a brush in the other.

"No."

Buzz blinked and followed my gaze. "Oh! This? You said before you didn't like having the black roof I painted, so I thought I could paint it a brighter color."

I groaned at the thought of whatever ungodly bright color was in that can. "No way. I'll paint it myself later, okay? Isn't painting my roof once enough for you?" I said with a frown.

"Nope. C'mon, it won't take long, I swear!" He pleaded and I glared at him.

"Paint my roof and I'll stuff you like a thanksgiving turkey." I warned and Buzz sighed heavily.

"Okay, okay; fine. I won't paint it," He set the can and brush aside and took a step away from them. "There, happy?" I nodded.

"Yes," I said and stepped out of my house and closed the door behind me and sighed when he took a stance like he was ready to go save the world or something. "Buzz, you don't have to do this, alright? I can manage just fine on my own. I still have things to do, you know."

"Too bad. You're just gonna have to deal with me for the day anyway, whether you like it or not." He said sternly.

"I don't like it though." I said bluntly and his feathers ruffled in irritation.

"Look Star, it's not my fault you completely fell apart yesterday _after _getting hurt. Everyone's worried about you- even Scoot." I stiffened slightly at the mention of the duck.

"Scoot's the one who brought up my home… Why should he care? Besides, I thought he hated me." I said as we both started walking-thankfully away from Scoot's house and closer to everyone else's on the other side.

"He annoys me too, Star. But I don't think he could actually hate someone- even if he tried. Disliking at the most, I'd say," He said and I coughed into my sleeve, immediately dismissing the idea of Scoot not hating me- especially after this. Buzz took a step back from me in alarm. "Hey now! You better not get me sick too! Unlike you, I plan to go to morning aerobics as much as I can!" He cried and I raised a brow at him.

"I'm not sick, Buzz… Why would you think that just because of a single cough?" I asked, laughing lightly at the idea of a paranoid version of him. He shook his head and flapped his wings about for a moment.

"No way- Eloise told me you were! You just want to trick me so we'll both be in the same sinking boat!" He said and I blinked. Eloise… Geez, is there anything she didn't do? I raised a hand to my forehead and groaned when I indeed felt heat radiating off of it through my hair.

"Could this get any worse?" I muttered and lowered my hand lazily. "How can I see Totakeke tonight now…?" I sighed.

Buzz raised a brow at me. "Why do you care so much about seeing him tonight? He's here every week you know. Just wait till next week."

"I can't, Buzz." I breathed as we stopped near Dizzy's house; I hated this feeling… Like I'm going to just drop again if even the wind changes direction. My wrist ached and the brightness of the sun practically burned a hole through my head, dizzying my footing once again.

Buzz frowned at me concernedly before blinking. "Wait, why not?"

"Because not showing up for a date you _totally _wanna go on has got to be, like, the worst thing ever!" We both turned at the voice to find Pippy and Bluebear coming our way with smiles on their faces.

"Wait a second… You?" Buzz's eyes widened and I sighed heavily.

"Oh, for the love of… Yes Buzz; me." I said, Pippy and Bluebear snickered behind him.

"Why did everybody suddenly decide to have a party right outside my house?" Dizzy came up behind me and he smiled. "Hey Star, how are you feeling today?" He asked concernedly and I frowned.

"Like Buzz painted my roof five more times." I sighed and Buzz made a choked sound of shock. Dizzy chuckled slightly.

"So, are you ready for tonight?" Pippy asked me eagerly and I swallowed before lowering my eyes.

"Pippy, I…" I growled under my breath at suddenly finding myself feeling nervous about talking with her about these things with the guys around. The rabbit shared a look with Bluebear and the two animals grabbed my arms, pulling me along and I winced at the sudden movement of my bad wrist.

"You're coming with us, Star." Bluebear smiled.

"Hey, wait a second! I'm supposed to-"

"Calm down Buzz! We won't toss her off a cliff or anything!" Pippy called back over her shoulder to the bird. I glanced at him one more time and saw Dizzy laugh and pat him on the shoulder.

I lost sight of them when we passed over the bridge.

"Okay, Star. We took you away- now spill." Bluebear said, attempting to be threatening but failing miserably. I sighed and took a step over to the small pond next to Pippy's house and plopped down at the edge.

Emerald was off doing who knows what, so she wasn't with the other girls in her acre right now. Good, one less gossipy mouth to satisfy.

Pippy and Bluebear stayed near me but stood near the trees instead. Their eyes burning holes into my skin as I tried to find the words. I bit my lip and looked down at the water.

"I don't want Totakeke to hear about what happened yesterday. But even if he isn't told by someone else, he'll question me the moment I walk up to him and I'll have to fess up. And even if I didn't care about that… The way I am now I'd be surprised if Buzz or Eloise even let me leave my house."

"I thought Eloise couldn't wait to see you with Totakeke tonight." Bluebear said confusedly and I pursed my lips.

"She's a very… Confusing, elephant," I muttered and the girls nodded silently. "I want to go, I really do… But what if in the long run I just get in his way? What if he just turns away the moment he sees me like," I paused to look at my reflection in the water. It was distorted and ugly in my eyes and I rested my hand on my bad wrist. "Like this?"

I clutched the ankle of my leg that was tucked under the other that was almost drifting in the water and bit my lip.

"What happened to not being afraid anymore?" The question hit me like a knife to the heart and I flinched. That's right, the way I am right now… I just broke my own promise; my vow. What have I done?

"Guess that ship sailed," I aimed a ghost of a smile into empty space. "I don't know what else to do."

"Star… Have you _ever _dated before?"

My head shot up in question and I blinked. "Well, no, but-"

"No wonder you're such a mess," Pippy waved off the glare I sent her way. "I just mean it's perfectly natural to feel the way you do! It's okay to be afraid of what he'll think. I mean, sure, most of us don't exactly go through what you did- but still. It's the first date- he's not asking you to marry him or anything. Besides, Totakeke's not a bad guy who just backs off as soon as he sees something different in a person."

"How do you know…?" I muttered and Pippy came over to me. I may not have ever dated before, but I still know how men can act… And change.

"We've all met him, Star. We know." She said, a warm smile on her fuzzy features. I coughed into my sleeve and sighed.

"Right… Thanks Pippy." I smiled, pulling the rabbit into a quick hug before standing up again with her help.

"Should we take you back to Buzz the Bodyguard?" Bluebear suggested with a snicker and I groaned at the idea of spending ore of my day with Buzz.

"_Please _no. If I hear him insult me again because it's seriously just the way he talks, I might just snap his painting wing in two." I sighed, raising a hand to my heated forehead irritably.

The two animals laughed before shaking their heads. "Sorry, rules are rules."

I blinked. "But _both _of you guys have been here longer than Eloise- assuming she's the one calling the shots here."

Bluebear shrugged. "I don't wanna get on an elephant's bad side! Especially hers- she's like a protective mother ever since she got here!" She shivered involuntarily and Pippy laughed.

"Exactly. So, back to Buzz with you before _all _of us get in trouble, okay?" She made to push me back toward the bridge but I dodged her paws.

"Come on, at least let me go to the post office first. It's not like I'll be pushing another giant cart all throughout Idris again, please?" I pleaded desperately ad Pippy glanced over at Bluebear who shrugged indifferently.

"Okay, fine. But we'll be waiting for you while you're there. Once you're out we go straight back to the boys, deal?" She said and I nodded.

"Deal. Thanks guys."

I think just getting through today is going to drive me insane.

* * *

"Hello Star, how can I help you?"

I walked over to the desk where Pelly stood comfortably, smiling at me.

"Hi Pelly. I just need to make a deposit today, that's all." I said and she cocked her head to the side, puzzled.

"Really? You always have letters to deliver to the museum. No luck finding any fossils?" She asked and I lowered my eyes, feeling a small coughing fit coming on so I held up my hand to my mouth so as not to get the germs all over the place. I heard Pelly gasp and I inwardly cursed myself, realizing I used my bad hand.

"Oh my- What happened to your hand?!" She asked in shock and I couldn't help but blink in mild surprise.

"You mean nobody's spread any of that god awful gossip around here?" I asked, though mostly to myself. Pelly paused for a moment before her beak opened and closed silently and I sighed. "So it did?"

"Yes, I'm afraid another villager mentioned it when they came to deliver a letter yesterday. But I'd imagine everyone in Idris probably knows by now anyway- even Mr. K.K. Slider when he comes around tonight." She said, her wings folded on top of the desk neatly.

"Yeah… You're probably right. God, why is the news of it just spreading like a wildfire around here?" I asked her, slowly getting more and more irritated by the fact that anyone and everyone knew before I could so much as breathe.

"Well it's not every day that we get a fight in a peaceful place like this." She said plainly and I bit my lip.

"Hm… Sounds like I ruined Idris' peaceful front the moment I got here then. Swell." I sighed and Pelly immediately shook her feathered head at me.

"None of that negative talk! You coming here and that happening so close together is merely a coincidence!" She cried and I almost stepped back in surprise. I had no idea Pelly could be so forceful.

"Alright, Alright… Sorry. How much do I still owe?" I asked, hoping she'd accept the change in subject. Luckily, she did.

"You still owe 1,400 bells." She said with a smile and I blinked. I actually had enough for that… I could just be done right here.

"Is that so? Then," I shuffled my hand about in my bag and pulled out a bag of bells, placing it on the counter. "1,400. Exactly."

"Oh!" Pelly exclaimed happily. "Then it looks like you've paid off your loan in full! Don't forget to talk to Mr. Nook when you can today. He told me he needed to speak with you once you've paid it off completely." She said and I nodded.

"Alright. Thanks again Pelly. See you later."

I couldn't fight down my excitement any longer. Once the door was closed behind me I shot up into the air with the pure happiness I hadn't felt in days.

"Yes! I'm officially debt-free!" I cheered, then a surprised voice beside me gasped and grabbed my wrist.

"Whoa! Calm down Star! You almost fell there!" The voice belonging to none other than Tutu exclaimed as she pulled me aside by the wrist and I cried out in pain.

"Ow! Ow, ow- Tutu, let go! That hurts!" I attempted to pry her huge paw off of my arm, only succeeding in making it hurt even more. I whimpered and felt tears of pain form in my eyes.

Tutu gasped and finally released me from her death grip. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" She cried in shock and I gritted my teeth, smiling forcefully at her.

"Agh, n-no… It's okay. I uh… I-I didn't need that wrist a-anyway." I sniffed, my wrist now throbbing under the miserable comfort of my good hand.

"I'm sorry! Oh, I totally forgot about that! I think we can get you an icepack at my house." She rambled on and on… My head started spinning.

"Tutu- it's okay! I can just go get one back at the station or something and-"

"My house is closer, Star. Besides, we have another new neighbor in my acre I want you to meet! Come on, please?" She brushed the tuft of blonde hair out of her eyes and I swallowed nervously. It's hard to turn down a teddy bear face like that.

"Well… I guess if it means meeting someone new…" I trailed off and she clapped.

"Yay! C'mon, let's go!" She started pulling me along by my good arm and I sputtered randomly.

"Wait a- Tutu! Pippy and Bluebear were- I mean-"

"I already talked to them. It's fine, really."

Why do I feel like she's lying to me…?

* * *

"Star, this is Bea," Tutu gestured to a small dog who I waved at, knowing Tutu would continue to talk. Bea was brown with darker brown-tipped ears and the same shade around her snout. "Bea, this is Star."

I extended my good hand to the dog and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Bea." She smiled and in turn and shook my hand lightly.

"Star…? I can remember that. Nice to meet you too," She said and I inwardly found myself gushing over how adorable she was. "Would it be alright if, um… If we became friends…?" She asked shyly.

Tutu shot me a knowing grin and I couldn't help but have to urge to pull the shy dog into a tight embrace.

"Yeah. We can be friends, Bea. I live in acre B-3, by the way, if you ever want to stop by." I said and she immediately brightened.

"Really? That's great! I have some unpacking to finish up right now… Bye for now!" She said and hurried into her house. I took a deep breath and heard Tutu laugh behind me.

"Well?"

I turned to her and smiled. "Most adorable dog, ever."

"Of all time."

A part of me was glad she just another new neighbor. New neighbor meant she wasn't here when I fought with Scoot, which meant she didn't know about it and therefore had no reason to question me without sounding rude. And thankfully, she seemed to care about manners.

I winced when I felt the throbbing pain in my wrist register in my mind and I glanced at Tutu.

"By the way, um… You said you'd have an icepack…" I trailed off, not meaning to sound pushy or desperate if I did. Tutu gasped and rushed into her house for a few moments.

"I totally forgot!" She shouted and I couldn't help but laugh lightly at that. After a second she came out with a small bag filled with ice and gave it to me. "Here, may not be those fancy ones everyone has, but it'll work for now."

I sighed in relief at the cold feeling masking the pain in my wrist. "Thanks Tutu. That feels so much better." I breathed and she laughed.

"Star!"

I blinked when I heard Bluebear's voice coming toward me. She had Pippy following her as well, the two looked relieved, actually.

"There you are! Where'd you run off to?! You say you're going to post office and then you're way over here? What the hell, Star?!" Pippy cried, pulling at her ears.

My eyes widened in surprise. So Tutu really was lying.

"N-No, wait a second! Tutu was there when I came out, and-and then she… She said she talked to you guys and- Will you help me out he-" I turned to find the spot that Tutu once stood in vacant and I blinked; that little… She got me in trouble!

Pippy sighed and pulled me along when they both started to walk away. "Whatever. Come on, Star, before Buzz has a heart attack."

* * *

"Do you always go back and forth like this? Seems counterproductive."

"I don't see why you're so against the idea," I said to Buzz as we passed my house again, now heading to the Nook's Cranny. "I have to go back and forth for you guys every time one of you borrows something. Pretty much all there is to do unless it's a holiday."

Buzz shot me a look out of the corner of my eye, watching as I continued to hold the icepack Tutu gave me firmly around my wrist. I liked the cold _much _more than the heat, so having something like this in the middle of July felt almost like a gift to me personally.

"We have the morning aerobics right now though." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well when Copper helped me out yesterday, he said I couldn't participate until my wrist was better. And now if he's heard about what happened afterward- I'll probably have to wait even longer." I sighed, but straightened when we arrived at the Nook's Cranny and I turned to Buzz, telling hi I'd be right back, and went on inside.

"Nook? You in here?" I started, seeing no hide nor hair of the raccoon.

"Star! There you are; I was waiting for you." I heard him announce, suddenly jumping out from behind a table. I jumped back in surprise.

"Geez… Nook what the hell were you doing back there?" I said, catching my breath and tempted to whack him upside the head for scaring me.

He took in my appearance for a moment, stopping at my hand, before continuing to speak. "You've paid off your loan, Star! I knew you'd do it- and so quickly too! Feels like just a week ago I was sending you all over the village in that uniform."

"That was a week ago."

"Now, I know you're probably plenty satisfied with the home you've just paid for- but now you also have the option of expanding your home. If you do, it'll be the same size as the rest of your neighbors' homes." He said, smiling when I nearly dropped my icepack in shock.

"Really?" I breathed, already eager to get started.

"That is, unless you don't want to-"

"I do! I want to!" I exclaimed, slamming my good hand on the table in my excitement "Finally that stupid HRA won't have to bitch about how small my place is…" I muttered, looking off into the distance for a moment. I told myself over and over to not let myself get sucked into the HRA, that they were just hardcore critics that wanted to make my life miserable.

Too late.

"It will cost a bit more, Star. So you'll have more to pay back to me…" Tom Nook trailed off as I looked at him.

"Will I have to work here again?" I asked. The raccoon shook his head. "Good."

"Wonderful. So you want it then?" He asked to be sure and I nodded without hesitation. "We can also paint your roof for you as well. There's a number of colors you can choose from right here." He said as he pulled out a small book with different paint samples.

Oh yeah. I'm _definitely _doing this.

I flipped through the book in silence. I remembered really liking the blue Whisp had painted onto my roof for me… Until Buzz painted the damn thing black the next day. Freakin' birds…

Some of them looked nice… But still.

"Blue. I pick blue." I said, pointing to the sample and Tom Nook looked over my shoulder at the color and nodded.

"Alright then- great choice! Now, your house will be done tomorrow morning, so…" He trailed off again and I sighed.

"So I have to stay somewhere else tonight?" I filled in the blanks in my head as he nodded. "I can still stop by to put things in and take things out though, right?" I prayed he would let me, please, please…

"Of course. You won't be in the way or anything. Come by to see me tomorrow after you've settled in and we'll talk about your payment then, okay?"

I nodded fully. "Okay, thanks Tom Nook." I smiled, buying something first before walking out to find Buzz still waiting impatiently.

"What happened?" He asked and I raised a brow at him. Could he really not hear us when he was right outside? There wasn't even a door to the place. Oh well.

"Well, I won't have to deal with you saying my place is tiny anymore. Oh," I paused to turn to him and he blinked. "And he's painting my roof for me- the _right _color. Don't paint over it this time." I said in a warning tone and he nodded.

"Alright, fine; I already promised I wouldn't do it again anyway," He said before pointing to the thing now sticking out of my bag. "What's that?"

I smiled lightly and pulled it out. "A fishing rod," I held it up in front of myself as we headed down the hill- I was thankful Scoot wasn't home- and toward the beach. "You wanna go fishing?"

Buzz sighed and flapped his wings once in a sort of shrugging gesture.

"I go where you go."

* * *

"Buzz, come on- I'm the one who bought the damn thing. Can't I at least use it?" I watched as Buzz somehow managed to keep a firm grip on the fishing rod, I thought his wings would get in the way of that; I guess not.

He reeled it in when the small lure bobbed up and down wildly, a green fish flopping about on the end in the air, desperate to get back to its watery home. Buzz sighed. "Another sea bass." He dropped it into a bucket we'd filled up with water to put the fish in.

"_Buzz." _I pressed on, knowing he was ignoring me. He threw the line back and into the water again and shot me a quick look before turning back to the open sea.

"You probably couldn't even reel it in with your hand like that; let alone actually catch anything. It's not my fault you decided to move a giant cart down a hill in a way that left you with a broken wrist." I unconsciously flinched at his words, them being eerily similar to Scoot's just yesterday.

Buzz glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and I pulled my knees up to my chest and stared out at the water. His beak opened and closed silently and his feathers brushed against my shoulder as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry." He muttered, taking one wing off the rod to pat my head lightly and I glanced up at him. He may be tall, but I don't think anyone around here could beat Tutu when it came to height. That lying little… _Not _so little… Ugh.

"It's fine. I know it was a stupid idea." I sighed. Buzz nodded silently before his head jerked to the side and I blinked, following his gaze. Something was floating in the water, approaching the shore. What the…

"Is that a hat?" Buzz voiced his thoughts, watching as said hat started drifting closer and closer to us. My eyes widened.

"Looks like a little more than a hat, Buzz." I stood up and jumped down from the ledge to the sandy shore.

"Star, wait a sec! Whatever it is could be bad news!" Buzz called out, but I ignored him as the figure washed up on shore, the water long abandoned by it.

It was a bird- a seagull, and a boy- wearing a sailor's uniform. Water was dripping from his long beak and he was soaked to the bone.

I knelt down and shook him lightly. "Hey, are you alright?" I shook him harder when I saw Buzz drop the fishing rod and jump down the ledge. "Say something if you can hear me!"

He made a gargling noise in response. Good, at least I know he's still alive.

"Atta… Attacked…," He slurred, slowly coming to. "Was a gi-gi… Giant sha-shark," My eyes widened and I scanned the bird. He didn't look injured or anything… He kept talking. "At least I… I think it was. It was really dark and… Maybe driftwood… Please…" He muttered pleas for help and I rolled him over on his back, suddenly my arm was jerked out from under me and I almost fell.

It was Buzz. He pulled me over again and I winced when the action jostled my wrist.

"Jesus, Buzz! What the hell are you doing?! He needs our help!" I growled, pulling my arm away from him. He glared daggers at me.

"Get away from this nutcase! Who knows how he even got here- what if he's bad?" Buzz held his ground under my glare. I heard the seagull behind me cough up water and I thought he might be fully awake soon.

I glanced over my shoulder at him before turning back to Buzz. "If he's bad, then we'll just have to find out for ourselves. He was lost at sea, Buzz- he doesn't exactly have the presence of mind to point a gun at us or anything. If you're not going to help then just back off, alright?"

Buzz flung his wings up in the air exasperatedly. "Fine. Just hang out with the washed up stranger all day you know _nothing _about aside from the fact he's a bad swimmer. I'm done; just don't blame me when you overdo it and pass out in the middle of nowhere." And with that he was gone. His house was just an acre away, so he'd be close anyway.

I shook my head and went back to the seagull who was now fully awake and looking around curiously, obviously feeling _very _lost. I tapped his shoulder and he whirled around in surprise.

"Hi there, are you okay?" I asked, unsure of what else I could say. I mean, what else could you possibly ask someone who just washed up on shore that wasn't dead? Not much. "What's your name? Do you need any help?"

Instead of just answering he yawned loudly as if I'd just woke him up from a peaceful nap in the sun. "Hello, can you tell me where I am? What year it is?" He asked and I raised a brow at him.

"Um… Okay; you're in Idris and it's the year 2013." I said. I didn't feel like repeating myself this time.

"2013?! That means I've been asleep for over 150…," He paused when my eyes widened in surprise. Say what? "…Minutes." Oh.

Talk about exaggeration.

"I'm sorry, that must've sounded strange. You're probably wondering how I wound up here, aren't you?" He said, I shrugged and nodded.

"Well yeah, that too, but um… I was mostly wondering about your name, actually." I said, though I felt like that almost sounded insensitive when it came out. Was it insensitive to want someone's name before they tell you a likely tragic story? I wasn't sure.

The seagull nodded and laughed. "Of course, my name is Gulliver," He smiled as I told him my name too. "Star? A nice name… Now, as for how I got here- well, that's a story and a half, I tell you!" He laughed and I inwardly sighed. This guy almost reminded me of Rover; I wonder how he's doing now…

"I was on my boat, the Crusty Barnacle, when a ferocious storm was a brewin' off my stern…," He paused and panicked slightly. "The boat's stern! That's what I meant! Anyway, so there I was- fighting against the wind and rain with all I had, trying to steer us to safety when a _humongous _wave came and swept me right off the deck! My crew mates did everything in their power to save me- but alas, they were too late."

He paused and held a wing to his beak in thought, I frowned and leaned in curiously. "Gulliver…?" He was shaken out of his thoughts.

"Actually, now it's really coming back to me- I believe they were really the ones who threw me overboard!" He exclaimed as I pulled back, a small part of me feeling sympathetic for him. His own crew got rid of him and let him drift out to sea? Talk about cruel. "Never mind that! Now, since you saved my life, I'd like to thank you- with a gift." He smiled at me and I blinked.

"Say what? No, Gulliver- it's fine, really. Who wouldn't help someone who just washed up on shore from who knows where, after all?" Buzz, apparently; but I kept that thought inside for now.

"Nonsense! I don't care who does and who doesn't do good deeds! Here, I'd like you to accept this small treasure I acquired on my journeys," He pulled something from his pocket and gave it to me- it was a compass. A really nice one too, if I might add. "I managed to barter this off a sneaky merchant while visiting a far-off port town. I believe it's one of a kind."

"Um… Wow, thank you Gulliver. I uh… Don't know what to say." I'm pretty sure compasses are about as common as any other camping supplies out there, but oh well. It's a nice gesture.

"Not a problem, Star. Thank you again! I'll choose not to bore you with my tragic tales of my crew mates for the time being; may your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!" He exclaimed as he saluted me before running off to who knows where.

Maybe I should go apologize to Buzz…

Sure he wasn't exactly being cooperative or anything and wouldn't help, but I knew he was only worried about what might've happened in the end. Everyone gets scared, and he's no different. Plus he's been putting up with me for hours and the whole time I barely did anything he said.

His house was right in front of me now… I guess, better late than never.

I walked up and knocked on his door. I could hear him scream a response through the door. "What?!"

I sighed lightly. "Buzz? It's me, I just wanna talk about earlier, okay?" I called through, hoping it would get him to open the door. My wrist ached, the icepack had already melted, so it was nothing but cold water now.

"Well I don't wanna talk to you, Star!" He yelled and I couldn't help but flinch at the anger in his voice. I was sure if I had ears like Freya or someone else they'd be drooping, bending back sadly.

"Buzz, come on- you can't still be mad about before. The seagull was a nice guy, by the way." I added. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to point out to someone who was angry over that specific person.

"I don't care how nice he was! Get the hell outta here!" He shouted. I lowered my eyes and bowed my head. He hated me now, that was for sure.

"Fine. Bye then," I set the compass Gulliver gave me on his doorstep. Maybe he'd like it. I took a step away from his door. "Maybe I'll see you when Totakeke's playing tonight."

Maybe then I could clear everything up.

* * *

I wasn't sure how long I'd been walking, but the fact it had started raining and my wrist throbbing painfully might have been signs that it'd been a while.

I don't know why I was so worked up over this. I guess I just didn't want my neighbors to hate me so fast after not even being here two weeks. But thanks to what happened yesterday, I bet they're all wondering if I'm the one who hates them.

I really don't care that I'm the only human here, I mean, it'd probably be fun to have one more here or something, but that's enough. Plus I have no real reason to hate the neighbors I have now… I wonder…

Could I call them friends?

I guess so. I know I told Bea I'd be friends with her, so it must be a lot simpler than I thought.

But Buzz was such a jerk when I first came here. It was like the moment I sent him that stupid letter when I found out they couldn't read worth a shit, he completely turned around. Of course, he was still the big, scary hawk I've come to know.

I could feel my lack of sleep catching up to me like the wave Gulliver said swept him away… Well, that or his crew members, apparently. Maybe just a little nap before tonight will do me some good…

I found myself at the wishing well now. The tree was big enough to block out the rain as long as I kept close to the fountain itself. I plopped down next to it, my legs sprawled out in front of me as I felt my eyes droop heavily. Is it okay to sleep out here? It's not against the rules, is it? I hope not.

Everything was going dark. The last thing I heard before dozing off completely was a low whisper… It sounded almost like it was coming from the well itself.

I'm sure it was just my imagination.

* * *

There were dull voices in the distance. They were all I could hear now; no more tapping of the rain against the river rock surrounding the wishing well and its tree. I guess the rain stopped while I was asleep.

The voices were calling my name, drawing me back to them quickly as I opened my eyes.

"Star! It's about time you finally woke up!" I cringed at hearing Emerald's high pitch voice and looked around tiredly. The only ones here were her and the other girls from her acre.

"Emerald? Wha… What're you guys doing here?" I asked irritably as I rubbed my eyes. The girls all shared incredulous looks.

"What're _we _doing here? Star, what're _you _doing here?! You missed K.K.'s performance!"

Oh no.

I shot up from my seat on the ground, now fully awake. "What?! What time is it now?!" I asked, fighting back frustrated tears for being so stupid.

"It's past nine now," Bluebear stated as she looked at me. "You still have time though! The next train doesn't leave until midnight. He always stays until then!" She said and I nodded, making to run over there as fast as I could, if not held back by three surprisingly strong animals.

I almost fell backwards in surprise. "Guys! What're you doing? Let me go to him!" I cried.

Pippy shook her head. "We told you, you have time. You can't go to him looking like that." She gestured to my clothes and hair and I frowned. What was so bad about how I looked now?

Oh wait. I probably looked like a homeless person right now, didn't I?

I groaned. "So what am I supposed to do? I don't have much tie, Pippy!"

She answered my question by pulling me all the way to her house by my good arm. "Not to worry. We raided your bag for something you can wear tonight," I shot her a look and she just shrugged, her ears flopping with the movement. "What? We wanted to dress you up this time. Is that so wrong?"

"Pretty sure it is when you break into someone's house to do it." I said and she groaned loudly.

"Who cares?! You left it unlocked anyway. Just change into this so we can get you back over there!" She shoved the clothes she took into my arms and crossed her arms.

"Alright, alright." I said, changing when she and the others had their backs turned.

They'd grabbed my familiar blue dress from back home out of my bag, it turns out. It was light- almost periwinkle if I had to pick- with button going down the front until it hit the waist. The dress stopped close to my knees and Pippy tossed me my shoes and I put them on.

"There. Am I good now?" I asked exasperatedly. Unfortunately they all shook their heads and I sighed.

I better get to Totakeke in time…

* * *

I ran to the train station as fast as I could, praying that Totakeke would still be there waiting. Pippy and the others held me back to do my hair- though the most I would allow them to do was a small bob and a curl of the bangs. They started makeup but I hightailed it out of there as fast as I could once that came up.

I was in luck. I spotted his floppy white ears and guitar in his paws the moment my shoes touched the river rock flooring. One of his ears twitched at the noise I involuntarily made and he turned to me and blinked, surprised.

"Star," He started, hopping down the stairs as I finally came to a stop, gasping for breath. "You came after all."

He sounded hurt by my being late. It was understandable, anyone would be upset over that. I caught my breath and stood straight.

"Totakeke, I'm really sorry I couldn't make it. I lost track of time, and I just-"

"I thought you wouldn't be coming this time," He said, now sounding more concerned. I frowned. "Some of the villagers thought so too, so they told me what happened."

I sighed. "Of course. Of _course _they would…" I inwardly growled. After all that talk of hoping he wouldn't have to know; someone went and did it anyway.

"Are you okay?" He asked concernedly and I paused. Was I? I didn't know anymore.

"I… I-I'm fine. Or- well, no, but- wait! No! Totakeke- I missed your show tonight! After what we talked last time, I- Aren't you even mad? Upset with me at least?" A part of me would feel better if he was. But I had a feeling he'd be that nice guy that wouldn't get mad about anything at all.

"It's cool, Star. As long as you're fine- I am." He said and I couldn't help but feel a little happy by that.

"But still, I…," I trailed off and he cocked his head to the side curiously, his ears flopping cutely. "Can I make it up to you? Before your train gets here?" I asked, hope blooming in my chest rather painfully.

Totakeke smiled and grabbed his guitar. "Sure, why not? I got tons of time." He said and I grinned, the feeling almost felt foreign to me… Being genuinely happy again. After what happened, all I could do- all I could think about- was sit by and let it all overwhelm me.

"Great! Thanks so much, Totakeke." I said, pulling him along with me as I walked. I could only think of one place for him that wasn't the train station that I thought he'd like.

* * *

"Where are we going exactly?" I heard Totakeke ask behind me as we wandered through the trees on the second level. We were almost where I wanted to take him.

"You worried about missing your train, Totakeke?" I asked him teasingly and I heard him laugh.

"Not in the slightest." I smiled a genuine one. It was like being with him made me forget… Just like when I heard him play last week. The moment I saw him, I automatically began to feel better; about my nightmares, my being late for his show, what happened yesterday with Scoot and today with Buzz… Everything.

But I was afraid to become dependent on him. It wouldn't be the first time; whenever it happened, those people I'd come to crave left me.

No. This was supposed to be a fun night, I wouldn't let my negative thoughts ruin it for the both of us.

I sighed in relief and let go of his paw as I stopped walking. "We're here."

He came up beside me and blinked at the scenery before him.

It was a larger spot in the river on the second level- opening up like a large pond. There was a small dock leading out toward the middle and close to the other side was a large lotus flower surrounded by lily pads. The moon and stars reflected on the surface, making it gleam beautifully.

"Wow," He breathed and I smiled as he walked up to the dock. He looked at the water before turning to me. "This place is _rad." _He smirked and I couldn't help but laugh at his words and I joined him on the dock.

"So… You like?" I asked with a small smirk and he chuckled.

"Definitely." He plopped down on the edge of the dock, his legs hanging over the edge and guitar in his lap.

"Well then, glad the musician approves." I teased, sitting down the same way- except I obviously didn't have an instrument- with our backs touching, leaning against each other.

I lowered my eyes in thought. "What song did you play earlier?" I asked softly, feeling his ears twitch against my hair.

"K.K. Love Song, actually," He said. "I thought if you wandered into the show, then you'd hear it." He muttered and I frowned.

"I'm still really sorry about that. No matter what you say, I'm not changing my mind about it." I pointed out and he laughed before I felt him turn. I blinked and turned to watch to find him looking right at me.

"You said you lost track of time, right?" I nodded. "What were you up to?" He asked with a raised brow and I sighed, looking up at the sky.

"I sort of… Fell asleep in the rain," His eyes widened and I swallowed. "What? It's not my fault! I was barely aware of what I was even doing at the time." I sighed, noticing his mouth morph into a concerned frown.

Crap. I made him worry. I hate it when that happens.

He shot me a look that asked me why I was even in the rain to begin with and I shrugged. "The things that went down yesterday were just… They left me fatigued, let's just say that. And I got into a fight with a friend just before it started raining, and…," I trailed off and sighed, running a hand through my curled bangs. "I just seem like a mess now, huh?" I asked with a fake smile.

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "Nah, more like somebody with a ton of drama following them around. Not like you're doing it on purpose- so it's cool with me," He paused and bowed his head. "I mean, aside from the baggage that comes with drama, anyway. It can be pretty heavy sometimes."

I sighed and shifted slightly, almost afraid to move my back away from his; as if I were to pull away then he'd be gone in the blink of an eye. "Ain't that the truth?" I said.

A silence swept over us for a few moments before Totakeke turned to face me again. "Why do you call me Totakeke? I go by K.K. Slider, remember?" He asked and I glanced at him for a moment.

"Stage names are too fake for my taste," I said bluntly and he frowned. "It's the real names I'm interested in."

"What about nicknames?" He asked.

"Nicknames are personal. They hold more meaning behind them than a stage name," I let my head fall back and rested on his shoulder. "You get a nickname from someone who sees you a certain way- a special way. They see you in a way that nobody else does, so they call you by what they've come to love. A stage name is just something the owner thinks sounds cool most times; other times its personal, but nobody gets it, so why bother?" I sighed lightly.

After a moment Totakeke nodded in understanding. "You think you'll come up with a nickname for me?" He asked, a smirk playing on his features that I could tell was there just from the way he spoke.

"Maybe," I said and lifted up my head to look at him. "K.K. Slider may be a great celebrity, but I think I like Totakeke more."

He raised a brow at me. "Is that so?"

I laughed. "Yup. Not as taken with the crowd this way." I said and he nodded with a chuckle.

He paused and held up his guitar to his chest, looking like he was ready to play. "About my song from earlier…," He started and I turned to him in question. "You wanna hear it?" He asked.

I smiled. "Yeah."

After a moment he strummed his guitar caringly, the strings creating a soft tune that I instantly fell in love with. I was sure that if I understood Japanese than I'd hear it was a cheesy love song just like it was called. The beat was soft, but quick, and he started whistling next.

The tune was steady, and caring too. Like K.K. Chorale, it rang softly in my ears beautifully. I wondered for a moment if he only played songs like this; nothing to jump up and down to like in a night club. I was fine with that, as most times I wanted something calming to settle my constant thought process down, if only for a few minutes.

He whistled once more before the strumming stopped and all was silent. He seemed to be waiting for my response but I just smiled, playing the tune in my head over and over again.

"You like it, Star?" He asked, bringing me out of my world and I looked at the sky.

"It was beautiful," I sighed happily. "Do you have the aircheck for that one too?" I asked and he nodded, handing me a small disc.

"Liked it that much, huh?" He chuckled and I nodded immediately, putting the disc in my bag to keep it safe. He watched me and rested a paw over my hand, I almost flinched at the surprise contact.

"Totakeke?" I breathed, unsure of what else I could say. Like "why're you holding my hand?" that just sounded rude beyond all reason.

He looked like he was about to say something when the sound of a train tore us from our thoughts. My eyes widened and he glanced at me. Uh-oh…

I stood from the dock quickly. "We should hurry back to the station so you don't miss your train, Totakeke," I pulled him up with me, making sure he had a chance to grab his guitar first. "Come on!"

A part of me was glad the train interrupted us, I inwardly sighed as we ran up the hill back to the first level. If he asked or said something serious, chances are I wouldn't know how to respond. Of course, the other part of me was pissed at said train for ruining the moment.

I gasped and skidded to a stop when we arrived back at the train station just as the train passed us and through the tunnel leading away from Idris. I paled immediately.

"Shit," I breathed, seeing Totakeke watch the train pass with a blank look on his face. "Totakeke, I- Damn, I'm really sorry… Uh…" I trailed off, inwardly hating myself to the maximum amount. Great; first I miss his show and the, thanks to me, he misses his train out of here! I'm terrible.

"Star, it's cool, alright?" Totakeke reasoned with my inner turmoil and I blinked.

"Why? You needed to get on that train, didn't you?" I said, pointing to the tracks where the train was just moments before we got here. He shrugged.

"It's no big deal, I can just take the next one in the morning," He came over to me and chuckled. "You gotta calm down, girl; you get stressed out pretty easily." He said and I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

I huffed. "Alright, alright. Well, since you're stuck here for the night… Do you want to stay with me for the night?" I asked, ignoring the echoing voice of my mom scolding me in my head.

He blinked. "You sure it's fine? I could just chill out here for the night." He gestured to the stairs leading up to the train stop and I shook my head.

"That's stupid," I stated and he sputtered awkwardly. I thought it was pretty cute; someone who acts so cool all the time falling apart just like that. "Come on, my place is right over here." I walked over to my house, making sure Totakeke was following.

Inwardly I panicked. Wait, wasn't Tom nook working on my house until morning? Unless past midnight counts as morning, then…

Oh.

I guess it does.

My roof was already blue, I could tell from the outside that my house was indeed bigger than the other three in my acre and I smiled.

I pulled open the door and held it open for Totakeke. Everything looked the same, except the room was bigger. All my furniture and such was still in the same arrangement I left them in, only they were all gathered in one corner. I frowned and moved to push the table against the wall.

Totakeke watched me with a hint of amusement. "Couldn't you just move furniture around in the morning?" He asked with a smile.

I grunted as I managed to push it against the wall successfully. "If I don't do it now, it'll drive me nuts until I do." I sighed, moving my radio next. K.K. Chorale was still playing through its speakers and I blinked. Crap, I left it on?

"You were listening to my song?" He asked, though mostly to himself, it seemed, and I cleared my throat nervously.

"Uh yeah. It um… It helps me." He raised a brow at me but I shook my head, ready to just leave it at that for now.

I moved my chair last to the corner of the room Totakeke was standing near. I winced when I accidentally pushed with my bad hand and decided to just move it by pushing backward, my back pressed against the furniture as my good hand cradled the other's wrist.

He noticed my discomfort and frowned as he sat down on a red sofa I'd gotten from Buzz; damn, I still need to talk to him…

"Does it hurt?" Totakeke asked and I blinked.

"Huh?"

"Your wrist," He pointed to it silently. "Does it hurt?"

I looked at my wrist thoughtfully and bit my lip. No point lying about it- if he's going to be in my house for the night, he'll see anyway.

"Yeah… I had an icepack but that's already gone. And I can't exactly get any more right now." I sighed. He nodded silently.

"Come over here," He said and I looked at him in question. "Come on."

He stood from the couch as I made my way over to him. He took my hand in his paws, looking it over in an awkward silence.

"It's broken," He said. "You really did a number on it, huh?" I nodded with a light laugh and pulled away from him.

"Yeah well, you learn by doing, right?" I said, walking over to my radio and popping in the disc he gave me tonight.

The tune bounced off the walls and I smiled.

"Star," Totakeke started, eyeing me from his side of the room. "You're really… Different, from the others." He said and I raised a brow at him.

"Is that so?" I teased and walked over to my bag, pulling out my blankets and laying them out for the both of us. "I hope that's not a bad thing." I laughed.

"It's not. I thought… Well, it's good. I love it." He was beside me in a second, his body already on one of the blankets and his paw on my hand again. I swallowed nervously.

"Really?" _Play it cool, play it cool… _I thought. I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek lightly. "Goodnight, Totakeke." I said before turning off the lights and slipping under my blanket comfortably.

There was a paused before I heard shuffling of feet and the blanket, I knew he was under it too.

"Night, Star."

There was a small hint of disappointment in his voice, but also… Maybe respect? Understanding? I wasn't sure, all I did know was that he didn't actually hate it here like I feared he would.

There may still be a chance for me after all.

* * *

**Alright so I've been working this for the past two days now. It's almost 1am and I'm fuckin tired.**

**What did you think? Cute? Sad? Bad? Good? Downright disgusting and want to burn it in a volcano?**

**The first time I found that the wishing well could talk to me I flipped my shit. So think of the voice Star heard when she fell asleep as the beginning of that.**

**Also, Gulliver's awesome! I hope he turned out ok! And what about Totakeke? I basically turned him into a different dog entirely for this one huh? Oh well, deal with it.**

**PLEASE REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE. I REALLY NEED TO KNOW HOW I'M DOING WITH THIS SINCE THE WHOLE THING IS TOTALLY NEW TO ME. SO PLEASE**

**And got any tips on how to meet the special NPCs? Is there one you want to see specifically? Tips on anything else for that matter? I'll welcome them all, thanks.**

**Next time we'll probably get to meet Phyllis and Pete!**

**See you then**


End file.
